and so we begin...
Now begins the carefully documented and meticulously overexaggerated journal of my life in the city of Tokushima-shi, in the prefecture of Tokushima-ken, on the island of Shikoku and in the country of Japan. A proper introduction would most necessarily include a brief but direct description of my journey to Japan by plane and the tomfoolery that almost necessarily ensued.
The plane ride, approximately 14 hours i believe, was no walk in the park, unless this walk was accomplished in the confines of a cushioned chair with a movie screen playing an olsen twins movie in your immediate and unavoidable view. Luckily, it only lasted two hours, a mere seventh of the ride itself. I was seated between two Japanese girls, one who slept the entire ride and made faces when i needed to use the restroom, and the other who chatted briefly with me about her boyfriend back in Buffalo, NY--she was visiting him. My "non-dairy vegetarian" meals were mostly composed of a combination of grapes, cous-cous, and bread products.
Once we finally landed in Osaka, I came to the sudden realization that I was in Japan, and that I would not be leaving for a year. Somehow, this whole crazy plan actually panned out. I proceeded through the airport and retrieved my luggage before doing all the necessary formalities upon entering a foreign country. I then congregated with my fellow NOVA workers in the arrival hall and eventually handed in my luggage for delivery to my apartment courtesy of my generous company and a friendly British NOVA superior. We then proceeded to the hotel on foot, passing through the narrow Osaka streets, and realized quite soon by the look of things that this was the hip part of town--there were punks abound, all sporting their spiked blond hair and hyper-modern apparel, along with ultra-chic girls and their delicately groomed boyfriends.
After getting settled, some of us set out to explore the inner city. One of the NOVA hopefuls was a loud-mouthed expert on everything Japan, especially Osaka, as he had been here before for four days. He led us around and imbued the team with a "blindingly apparent and embarrassing tourist aura". Not that i minded. It really is quite hard for a Caucasian such as myself to attempt to "blend in" here. Among the sites we saw was a enormous mechanical crab perched above a restaurant storefront, craning its massive legs in all directions, beckoning us to either come in and eat or to be so frightened as to walk in the opposite direction. I did the latter. We stopped at a place claiming to be a Parisian cafe but actually serving Japanese food, with absolutely no allusions to Paris in the decorated interior or in the food names.
Afterwhich, there is not much to say except that i eventually arrived at the bus to take me to Shikoku the next day. The bus ride was enjoyable, especially after having to change my seat to my assigned one after asking what the letter and number meant on my ticket. I spoke briefly with the older woman who sat next to my assigned seat, mostly about how many stops there were till Tokushima, and about how this is my first time in Japan. My Japanese skills do not go far beyond simple and dull conversation, but i always leap at the chance to make a fool of myself.
When i arrived in Tokushima i met my roommate Mike and his friend Kelly. They are nice Americans from Florida and California, respectively. They brought me to a sandwich shop called "Big Brother" which is owned by a man named Norm, an American as well who has a half-Japanese child and has been in Japan since '93. I had my first real meal since my departure--a vegetarian sandwich--a meal fit for kings, fit to satisfy even the most heroic hunger.
And so my Tokushima tale begins.
The plane ride, approximately 14 hours i believe, was no walk in the park, unless this walk was accomplished in the confines of a cushioned chair with a movie screen playing an olsen twins movie in your immediate and unavoidable view. Luckily, it only lasted two hours, a mere seventh of the ride itself. I was seated between two Japanese girls, one who slept the entire ride and made faces when i needed to use the restroom, and the other who chatted briefly with me about her boyfriend back in Buffalo, NY--she was visiting him. My "non-dairy vegetarian" meals were mostly composed of a combination of grapes, cous-cous, and bread products.
Once we finally landed in Osaka, I came to the sudden realization that I was in Japan, and that I would not be leaving for a year. Somehow, this whole crazy plan actually panned out. I proceeded through the airport and retrieved my luggage before doing all the necessary formalities upon entering a foreign country. I then congregated with my fellow NOVA workers in the arrival hall and eventually handed in my luggage for delivery to my apartment courtesy of my generous company and a friendly British NOVA superior. We then proceeded to the hotel on foot, passing through the narrow Osaka streets, and realized quite soon by the look of things that this was the hip part of town--there were punks abound, all sporting their spiked blond hair and hyper-modern apparel, along with ultra-chic girls and their delicately groomed boyfriends.
After getting settled, some of us set out to explore the inner city. One of the NOVA hopefuls was a loud-mouthed expert on everything Japan, especially Osaka, as he had been here before for four days. He led us around and imbued the team with a "blindingly apparent and embarrassing tourist aura". Not that i minded. It really is quite hard for a Caucasian such as myself to attempt to "blend in" here. Among the sites we saw was a enormous mechanical crab perched above a restaurant storefront, craning its massive legs in all directions, beckoning us to either come in and eat or to be so frightened as to walk in the opposite direction. I did the latter. We stopped at a place claiming to be a Parisian cafe but actually serving Japanese food, with absolutely no allusions to Paris in the decorated interior or in the food names.
Afterwhich, there is not much to say except that i eventually arrived at the bus to take me to Shikoku the next day. The bus ride was enjoyable, especially after having to change my seat to my assigned one after asking what the letter and number meant on my ticket. I spoke briefly with the older woman who sat next to my assigned seat, mostly about how many stops there were till Tokushima, and about how this is my first time in Japan. My Japanese skills do not go far beyond simple and dull conversation, but i always leap at the chance to make a fool of myself.
When i arrived in Tokushima i met my roommate Mike and his friend Kelly. They are nice Americans from Florida and California, respectively. They brought me to a sandwich shop called "Big Brother" which is owned by a man named Norm, an American as well who has a half-Japanese child and has been in Japan since '93. I had my first real meal since my departure--a vegetarian sandwich--a meal fit for kings, fit to satisfy even the most heroic hunger.
And so my Tokushima tale begins.
posted by mdove at 4:44 PM
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