Camping? (Long lost blog)

(Here's an old post that I wrote, got lazy with attaching pictures, and pretty much never posted it. Enjoy!)

Kim and I took a little camping trip with some friends up by Mt. Fuji around mid May. Our friend Taleb rented a car and we were off for a new adventure. I have been dying to go camping ever since we landed in Japan. I had all the necessary camping equipment to ensure our comfort and safety, medical kit-check, gas stove-check, sleeping bag-check, rope-check, dynamite-check, emergency bivy-check etc. Kim thinks I'm a bit too over-prepared, but to hell with that you just never know when a grizzly is going to attack! A man must be prepared for anything. The car ride was about, I don't know maybe 2 1/2 or 3 hrs, but time flew by when you are surrounded by good company. Clayton was designated DJ and we played a game of 'guess which movie the music by John Williams is from.' You may think you don't know who John Williams is (I didn't), but trust me, you do know who he is you just don't know it yet. The man is a genius!

After a few detours we arrived at the campsite at around 2 PM. The site was a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. It was visually stunning, and completely not what I was expecting. Scenic, yes, hotels and bungalows completely surrounding the lake? .... not so much. Not exactly escaping civilization, but it was away from the madness of Tokyo and that is all that matters. When we arrived it basically started raining. Those that were originally going to camp decided to throw in the towel against the elements and sleep in a bungalow. Everyone tried to convince us to stay in the bungalow as well, but I was having none of it. By God we are freaking camping! I did not care if a typhoon came through I was determined to sleep in my tent. Kim being the best fiance a man could ask for stood by her man and we set out to put together our tent.

From about 3 PM on we basically started to eat and drink the day and night away. Taleb marinated pounds and pounds of meat with spices from his home country of Bangladesh. Wee Li, Nix, and Imelda fixed up some fine Singaporean cuisine. It was awesome! We ate so much food it was ridiculous. At one point we even had a card game where instead of taking a drink you had to eat food (thanks Wee LI). I do have to give thanks to Franky for doing a most excellent job of manning the grill.

As for our thrilling night of camping I hardly slept a wink. The rain picked up and pelted the tent, not to mention I thought it was a bright idea to set the tent under some brush to theoretically lighten the blow of the ensuing rain. The rain may have abated a bit as a result, but it didn't stop the wind swept branches from colliding with our tent all night long. Needless to say I've had a better nights sleep and I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of our friends emerging from the bungalow fresh and rested.

We left the campsite around noon and headed off to Tokyo, but not before taking a quick bath at an Onsen (hot spring) and sampling a bit of the local flavor. The Onsen we went to was equivalent to a really nice spa. The guys broke off from gals into our respective locker rooms. Here you strip down butt naked with your friends, dignity towel in hand, and take a shower next to each other at these little stands (If you have ever seen Mr. Baseball you will get the idea). Coming from the USA this is a rather awkward experience to be hanging out with your boys ... naked. Then you go and relax in the various hot tubs. After the spa treatment we sat down for nice meal of udon noodles with a side of raw horse sashimi. Believe it or not raw horse tastes just like beef. You dip it in a little ginger and soy sauce and you have pretty delicious meal. Cheers!

The Japanese waiting outside a pachinko parlor at 7 am!

Geared up and ready to go

Not entirely sure what I'm doing



Eating Kimi

Crayton, Sang ho, Yu-chan, Kimi!!, Imelda

Skipping rocks

After I'm done poking you I shall thwack you with this ladle!

So I asked Yu-chan to look as gangster as possible and this is what I got. Yu-chan you would make a terrible gangster :P

Warming our buns

The Gang (on the left Yu, Sang ho, Crayton. On right Imelda, Nix, Taleb, and Franky)

Our mighty tent

Imelda, Wee Li, and Yu-chan

Eating Udon Noodles (at least I think that's what it was)

Ahh nothing like a little raw horse sashimi to top off a hearty meal. Yummay!!!!

Views around the lake

Fertility Festival

April was a big month for Kim and I. Not only did Kimi turn the big two six, but we got out and about with friends and explored the stranger side of Japan. We went to the Fertility Festival or as most of us Gai Jin know it as the "Penis Festival." It is a celebration of manhood. The men parade around in low cut kimonos with sumo type undies. They hoot and holler as they raise giant phallic symbol shrines into the air. The best part about the festival is the things they sell, from penis pops to penis key chains. You could even buy a daikon (Japanese giant white radish) in the shape of a dong. Overall I wouldn't recommend going to the festival. It was literally packed with Gai Jin, and everyone is pushing and shoving to buy their most favorite Penis memorabilia. I must say it was quite unpleasant. However eating Korean food afterwards with Wee Li, Imelda, Nix, and Renee made it all worth it.

Kim and I also went to an Irish games festival with a soccer team that I played with a couple of times and got a shot at attempting to play a little Gaelic football. I admit that I was absolutely terrible at it, but Kim gave a good showing with her blinding speed. I could go through the painful effort of trying to describe it to you, or you could just click on the hyperlink and read about it. I choose the latter, enjoy.

Last but not least we had our second BBQ event in Tokyo. It was on the same river as our first one, but this time we had a luxury not often found in Tokyo......grass. That's right, good old fashioned natural turf found all over most parts of the world, but seemingly missing from Tokyo. Everyone chilled out for golden week by bringing lots of food and drink and just having some fun in the sun. Will and Clayton provided entertainment by playing the guitar and trumpet while we all sang along to such familiar tunes as John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb."

If there is one thing I love about living abroad it is being part of the expat community. You meet so many people from all over the world, and instantly friendships develop. After a soccer match one day I was having a few beers with the boys and had an Englishman to my left, a Kiwi to my right, and a French, Irish and Canadian sitting across from me. You can imagine the fantastic conversations that were shared over a tall glass of cat piss (Japanese beer). Basically everyone prepared to make fun of the lone Frenchman...."um who liberated France again?????" All in good fun and he took it well. I'm sure the Irishman took a couple stabs at me, but I really couldn't understand what the hell he was saying. Good times

Does anyone know where I can find a keychain of a monkey holding a giant penis?
.....those aren't women.....
All these people were pushing and shoving to see some spectacle, so I held up the camera in the air to see what it was. Basically it is a girl riding a rather large wooden dong. Apparently it gives you good luck in the baby making department.
The outfit of the shrine carriers.
The gang: Wee Li, Imelda, Nix, Kim, and David the Glorious

They come in all shapes and sizes.
Kimi tearing it up at Gaelic Football. She is the one with the ball. You can literally see the fear from her opponents.
The Gaelic Football Team
Kim and Clayton doing their Asian thing

Yu-chan and Renee enjoying the finest Chu hi in the land
John is a grilling machine
See I wasn't lying, grass!
Yohei......I think he's drunk
Kim, Rie-chan, and Renee
Terry explaining "G-Bangers" to Yohei

Will singing away

Hanami

Hanami, translated literally means "flower viewing." This the term for going out and looking at cherry blossoms in bloom. I always wondered what was the deal with the Japanese and their cherry blossoms. I mean its a tree with flowers. It would be like driving through the blue ridge mountains and seeing the leaves change in autumn. whoopedy do! You've seen it, its beautiful, move on. It wasn't until I came to Japan that I discovered the true spiritual nature of Hanami. It's not about the flowers and how the trees are lined up to create a beautiful array of color that stimulates the mind, body and soul. No no, its much more than that. Its about throwing a tarp or blanket down with your friends anywhere there is a cherry blossom tree. Everyone brings food and lots of "beverages." It turns into an all out party in Japan for about two weeks. Kim and I celebrated our Hanami in Naka Meguro on a Friday night. We spent it with some of her co-workers and literally we had a tarp down on a sidewalk just eating, drinking and socializing.....good times.

I saw literally a group of about 30 people on a Monday night behind our apartment in our hideous gravel park that contains one cherry blossom tree celebrating Hanami. I have to say I truly embraced Hanami, what a fantastic event. We also went to Shinjuku Koen to view the cherry blossoms there and I must say that is probably one of the the nicest parks I've been to. Extremely well landscaped and the cherry blossoms were not half bad either. All pics are from Shinjuku Koen.

The legions of people celebrating Hanami
Look at the beautiful cherry blossom it is glorious!




Ninja kicks

"The Seoul of Asia"

At the end of March Kim and I took a flight to Seoul, South Korea for what was originally intended to revalidate my tourist visa, but turned into a rather pleasant mini break. Japan gives you a 90 day tourist visa so you have to leave the country and come right back in order to reinstate it. Seoul is often the destination of choice for most Gai Jin as the flights are relatively cheap. I use relatively cheap very loosely in that it cost us about $350 per person. Not exactly the bargain we were hoping for, but it beat going to Guam for $550. We talked with a bunch of people from Kim's office about what to see and do and the general response was "uh, you mean besides eating and drinking?" After a comment like that I really wasn't expecting too much out of "The Seoul of Asia." (This is the catchy slogan for tourism, hence the quotes)

The flight over there was disappointing to say the least. We've been spoiled by flying international carriers such as China Air, and on this trip I skimped and booked United Airlines just to save a few bucks. We thought, "its an international flight of course they will serve us a meal." You thought wrong Dave, instead the United experience involved a quarter of a sandwich with cheese, ham, and a yellow gooey substance that appeared to be regurgitated out of yak, and slapped on a piece of processed white bread for our wholesome enjoyment. Ahh the sweet pleasure of flying USA airlines. I'm amazed we didn't have to pay for toilet paper.

We arrived late around 11pm or so and apparently missed the direct buses to downtown, and ended up having to settle for the local. We were confused about how in the world to get to the place we were staying as it was a little off the beaten path. The Korean people were happy to help out and told us a bus to take to get relatively close. One guy, literally right before his bus was about to leave, sprinted to find the bus stop for us. It was pretty cool and I thought "the Korean people are very nice." Then we proceeded to get in line for the bus, and wouldn't you know it this korean couple cut right in front of us. I don't know what it is, but whether you are in Japan, Viet Nam, or South Korea, asian people will purposely cut in front of you. They don't even act like they did anything wrong just stand there with a blank look on their face. This sets Kim off. She turns into a little pitbull and starts mouthing off in english. Kim has this theory that no one in Asia can understand english. I keep telling her that although they may not be able to speak it well they more than likely can understand the gist of what you are saying. We managed to cut off the rude couple before getting on the bus, but any ground we gained was stripped from us by the little old korean ladies. That's right, watch out for the old ladies, they are by far the most vicious. On the bus Kim nearly got knocked over as they pushed past her to get to their seats.

We stayed in a town outside of downtown called Nowon. It was about 30 min by train outside of downtown and is a solid place for cheap shopping relative to the expensive Myeongdong district. We found the real gem of Nowon though, called Wild Bill's NO. 10 Bar. It looked really shady but we decided to go up there for a drink anyhow. I don't know if it was the best or worst decision I ever made. On the weekends they put on this little show. They have this huge space behind the bar and I thought it was very weird that they wasted that much space on a bar back. Around 10:30pm or so the performance began. All of the bartenders would take their turns flipping and tossing bottles. Then the bar manager or the ring leader as I like to think of him whips out this staff and lights both ends on fire and starts to twirl it around Bruce Lee style. He then proceeds to blow fireballs, and display his awesome fire eating abilities. Then if that wasn't cool enough, the ring leader and another bartender lit two bottles on fire and tossed them around to each other like a game of hot potato (I just want to thank Brad for giving me the idea of hyperlinks). Kim and I sat there in awe at the talent of these two as they twirled these homemade fire bombs around copious amounts of alcohol. At the time we didn't seem to mind the grim reality that with one slip the whole place could have turned into a blazing inferno.

To top off the show they built this tower of glasses. After each bar tenders performance they would poor a shot onto the top of the tower to eventually drip down into a pint glass. The ring leader would end the night by pouring Bacardi 151 down the tower of glasses and lighting the entire structure on fire with the final result a pint glass full of high octane booze. They then would give this death drink to some poor unsuspecting white guy in the crowd. Naturally he couldn't turn it down since his manhood was clearly on the line. Down the hatch it goes, and w/n thirty minutes that guy was nowhere to be found. Luckily I befriended the bartenders so they never picked me. Honestly I think they were just afraid of Kim :P.

All around our trip to Korea was spent walking around downtown. We went to a couple palaces, such as Changdeokgung, and Deoksugung. They did an excellent job of recreating the palaces to present them as they once were. I say recreate because literally these palaces were burned down several times by the Japanese, and also by the North Koreans. One thing I love about Seoul is that they did a great job of trying to maintain the cultural heritage of their city. Although Seoul is very modern with heavy western influence, the Koreans go out of their way to demonstrate the desire to preserve the history of their country (and maybe to boost tourism dollar a bit). Within Seoul they have five palaces in downtown so its easy access for you history buffs. At each palace they also do a sort of changing of the guards performance which I included a video below. It was pretty cool and worth seeing.

Besides the endless eating that we did on the trip (Korean beef is the best, so good!), my favorite part was the War Memorial of Korea. I would have to say if there is one thing that you do in Seoul besides eating as much Korean food as possible, go to this museum in between meals. We spent 3 hrs and still we had one more floor to go, but we made it through most of it before they kicked us out. I knew little about Korea history other than that the Japanese occupied them for quite some time and of course the Korean War. After going to the Memorial I found out that the Koreans were in endless war even before it established itself as a country. The memorial walks you through the whole history from the various battle tactics, to the armory. I thought that the memorial would be very one sided, but honestly it really wasn't biased at all. I definitely encourage reading up on Korean history, it is pretty fascinating.

Seoul was a breath of fresh air from the madness that is Tokyo. The city was open, with a lot of green. At any point you could look out and see the mountains that surround the city. In Tokyo you feel so small and detached from nature that it gets to after a while. Seoul you felt like you could finally breath. It also is a heck of a lot cheaper. You can actually buy fruit for a reasonable price. To put things in perspective Kim bought 30 strawberries for 2,000 won ($2). In Tokyo a deal would be 6 strawberries for $10. However according to Kim's GAP index, Seoul is a bit pricer than Tokyo. Kim measures the cost per unit of a foreign good according to GAP department store prices. According to the law of one price a GAP t-shirt should cost the same in one country as it would in another country if the currency traded at one for one. Not so according the GAP index. Tokyo is about $10 cheaper. So remember that ladies when shopping for American goods in Seoul.

Unlike Tokyo if you avoid the western stores you have a chance to bargain. Kim is a born negotiator. Its almost like she is trying to play Jedi mind tricks on the poor victim behind the counter...slowly waving a hand past the face..."you will give me this mask for 8,000 won." Unfortunately the lady was having none of it and only knocked it down a few thousand won, but I like to think we won that battle.

As far as renewing my tourist visa for Japan, lets just say it didn't go as well as expected. The lady at immigration kept questioning my purpose for coming back to Japan after I had only renewed my tourist visa once in the past five months. From what I've read foreigners renew several times for over a year and not had any problems. I however was not so fortunate. She didn't buy my story that I was backpacking Asia and carrying this huge pack for the sanctity of my health. They brought me to a back room where another guy proceeded to take my picture and ask further questions. That's when I decided enough was enough and I laid down my cards to call black jack, a note from PwC explaining why I am here. Viola! I skipped across the border and back into Japan.

A plethora of palaces in the middle of downtown Seoul
Is it me or does Kim look particularly nervous standing next to a guy with a giant sword?
Digging for gold!
Mmmmm...pho, we haven't had good solid vietnamese in a while. Needless to say we were pretty happy when we found vietnamese joint outside our hostile.



War Memorial of Korea
First, you're probably wondering what the heck am I doing....
Second, you're probably wondering why I am bundled up in a jacket, scarf, and gloves. Korea is frickin' cold man, and makes you do crazy things!

I found the Powder

About mid February I took a ski trip on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. Japan primarily consists of three large islands, Kyushu to the south, Hokkaido to the north, and Honshu right in the middle. Hokkaido's claim to fame is the city of Sapporo, which houses the company Sapporo that makes the beer and some of the finest powder known to man. I arrived in Niseko on a monday and skied for three days.

Niseko is made up of 3 different ski resorts: Annupuri, Niseko Village, and Grand Hirafu. I don't know why the Japanese do this, but at every mountain, no matter the size, they operate several small independent ski resorts. I had no idea that it was this way so I basically just picked an area that had relatively cheap housing, which turned out to be the Annupuri side of the mountain. You can buy a pass for just that resort or you can buy an all mountain pass to ski all three. The funny thing is you really do not save much buying the pass to ski just one resort (maybe $5) and are better off just getting the all mountain. You can actually buy your lift passes from the place that you stay and you save quite a bit. I paid $130 for a three day pass, which is an excellent deal for a resort this size.

I stayed at Annupuri Youth Hostel, which I can tell you that the term "Youth" is a misnomer. I was the youngest person that stayed there besides the family that arrived my last day that had two 7 yr olds (who knows the kids could have been 13 or 3 yrs old and I wouldn't know the difference. I have no concept of kids ages).

When I arrived I expected the hostel to be filled with Aussies, but to my surprise it consisted of primarily old Japanese men. That night they proceeded to get pretty lit and sang old Japanese songs. It was quite entertaining. Overall the hostel was very nice, clean, and Yu-san and his wife fixed up some rather delicious meals. The town of Annupuri is pretty terrible. There are very few restaurants, no bars, and the closest convenience store is about 10 miles away. Yu-san can bring you over there but only if he is heading out in that direction. Despite the negatives there is one major positive point to staying in Annupuri and I will get to that in a bit.

My first day on the slopes I did my best to hit all of the challenging runs that the resort had to offer. Unlike Hakkuba, Niseko opened up far more terrain and you could easily ski throughout the trees and you can even get into some of the backcountry. There was still a lot of skiable terrain that they do not open up, but they claim they have plans to open it up in the future once they figure out avalanche control. The runs are not as long as a lot of the major resorts we have in the US, but they were definitely reasonable. I was lucky in that I had about 2 ft of fresh powder to work with on my first day out. I skied to all three main lodges of the resorts to check out the scene and I was not too impressed. None of the areas really had a cool bar scene. The restaurants were Japanese style that consisted of inserting money into a machine, which produces a ticket and that is how you order your food and drinks. The resorts were also characterless. Even the Hilton wasn't anything to write home to Mom about. Lift lines were practically nonexistent but I did ski on the weekdays to purposefully avoid them. One annoying factor is that they have very few high speed lifts and the gondolas themselves they run at a slow speed. It definitely gets frustrating when you are used to the lifts back home.

My second day these two Aussies that stayed at my hostel invited me to ski with them. They claimed they could take me to the serious backcountry, which I really had no idea how to access on my first day. I gratefully accepted and we took to the slopes. These two guys apparently leave the wife and kids at home and come up to Niseko for 3 weeks every year to ski. They were about in their 50s and both were very accomplished skiers. We entered the backcountry from the Annupuri side, which apparently Annupuri has the best and easiest access to the backcountry out of the 3 resorts. Niskeo Village does not have access b/c it is located in the middle and Hirafu's backcountry is apparently difficult to get to and is the largest ski resort which translates into more people skiing out the terrain. This is the major positive point I mentioned earlier. I literally had two days of skiing through powder, all fresh runs in the backcountry. It was amazing! The powder itself is impressive. It is so light and feels like you are floating. It is far better than the concrete we are used to in the northwest. My legs stayed fresh all day and not a single leg burn. It was as if I was a snowboarder for a day. Thank you John & Jeff for letting me tag along.

One interesting point I forgot to mention about Niseko is the weather, you never know what you are going to get. The weather changes constantly throughout the day. One minute it could be sunny the next it could be pounding snow with high winds. As the saying goes in Niseko "if you don't like the weather, just wait ten minutes."

As far as choosing a place to stay in Niseko it all depends on what you want out of your ski trip. For a family Niseko village is probably a better pick b/c there is a bit more there than Annupuri. If you want a night life apparently Hirafu has it, as it is a lot bigger than the other two villages. If you want fresh powder and pretty decent backcountry I would recommend staying in Annupuri.

Dining area at Annupuri Youth Hostel
Here is a picture of the common area. That's my roommate on the floor. I don't think I have ever heard anyone snore as loud. I did not sleep for 3 days.
the rooms



John tearing it up in the powder.

John & Jeff the two Aussies who showed me the ropes.
A typical day of skiing through the trees.

In the distance is the backcountry. It comprises of 3 huge bowls.

This is a picture of the summit at Niseko on the Annupuri side

Another picture of Annupuri resort. The weather was too hectic to get a lot of good shots of the mountain. The pics you saw were only a handful of times when the weather actually cleared up long enough to get some good shots.