Last summer, I decided to backpack in Honshu. Japan, unsubbed; found myself having half understood conversations with perfectly nice people. Nevertheless, I made new friends, ate delicious food, saw fantastic landscapes and got to know the Japan I only knew in the colorful, quirky world of anime.
Dramatic Communication, Full of Ability
オタク n. nerd
11am, pot up. Enter loading screen graphic.
城 (しろ) n. castle
Late afternoon, breathtaking Nagoya Castle.
息つく (いきつく) v. to take a short rest
Lunch time, guilty of visiting Ito Hideaki's home town. Gifu Prefecture is home to cormorant fishing; I arrived five days too early for the season.
貧乏 (びんぼう) n. destitute
Early morning, fortunes are made and lost every day in every corner of the world, Tokyo.
新幹線 (しんかんせん) v. bullet train
5am, waiting for the shinkansen in Tokyo.
5am, waiting for the shinkansen in Tokyo.
凧揚げ合戦 (たこあげかっせん) v. kite-fighting
7am, arrived really early at cloudy Nakatajima Dunes in Hamamatsu, perfect battle weather.
視る (みる) v. to see
So what is kite fighting really like? Watch the video. Warning: J-pop, colors and lots of zooming and panning.
食べる (たべる) v. to eat
Noon, fair vendor food never tasted so delicious.
ラブ n. love
Mid-morning, birthplace of my all-time favorite J-pop singer Otsuka Ai, Osaka became my most favorite city in Japan.
ゲイムセンター n. game center
Pachinko is huge in Japan. Nearly 13,000 parlors operate in the country.
静か (しずか) a. silent
8am, laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. Vonnegut on ground zero that is Genbaku Dome.
日本酒 (にほんしゅ) n. Japanese sake
Late, first night in Tokyo — what else am I going do?
お休み (おやすみ) n. good night
Evening, until next time, Tokyo.
