2

10/18/2006 7:20:11 AM

Ohayou

[Edited on October 18, 2006 at 7:28 AM. Reason : ^.^]

10/18/2006 7:25:21 AM

Quote :

"If I may ask, how "Americanized" have the people become in Japan? I was saddened when after talking to the only Japanese girl that I have ever met that I knew more about Japanese history and customs than she did."

most americans don't know much about american history. i would only expect the same from other countries.

10/18/2006 7:27:15 AM

I so badly want to go to a sumo basho.

And shop on the Ginza.

10/18/2006 8:20:31 AM

if any of you come visit Tokyo, i will definitely show you around (if you want). i speak japanese and engRish. it would be cool to see someone from ncsu in Japan!


this is the street to temple on Jan 4. many people go to temple/shrine to pray for a great year. it is called hatsumode.

Quote :

"There's a job opening in my boyfriend's company if you want to ditch anyway "

does your bf work in japan, too?

[Edited on October 18, 2006 at 11:51 AM. Reason : a]

10/18/2006 11:47:29 AM

i'd go

but i don't wanna be another dirty gaijin

10/18/2006 11:57:26 AM

Quote :

"Stop teasing us. Did you see tubgirl or not?"

lmao

i'm in my 5th semester of japanese, how much did you take before going over?

10/18/2006 12:03:00 PM

^ I took up to FLJ 401, but the girl who lives next to me has never taken a Japanese class in her life, so I don't think it much matters how much you study before you get here.

Quote :

"Have you ever been to and/or participated in any of the Shinto festivals?"

I've been to a few but as a general rule, women are not allowed to participate in Shinto festivals. But then, I think the men do a fine job of carrying around those giant wooden shrines so I probably wouldn't do it even if it wasn't taboo.

10/18/2006 7:55:23 PM

Quote :

"i'd go but i don't wanna be another dirty gaijin "

you wouldn't be a dirty gaijin if you are with me

The management at my company is mostly americans.. They speak Japanese very well... They learned it through Japanese GFs/Wives or work, so I guess you don7t have to study haaarrrrd in class.. just learn from your japanese friends, gfs, bfs, or whoever.

10/19/2006 1:21:48 PM

Diesel, yeah he works for a small eikaiwa called Wishborn. They're pretty much only in Wakayama and Shiga.

More photos:





I am going to Kyoto this weekend so hopefully I'll have lots of new photos to share

[Edited on October 19, 2006 at 9:59 PM. Reason : engrish]

10/19/2006 9:58:30 PM

have you been to one of those sushi bars with the conveyer belt? I've always wanted to do that

10/19/2006 10:01:51 PM

^ yeah, kaitenzushi is fun. The place in Chapel Hill is pretty good as long as it's busy. Don't bother going in if there aren't a lot of people already in the restaurant. There's also a couple of good kaitenzushi restaurants in NYC and Seattle in you are ever in those cities.

10/19/2006 10:04:07 PM

So Kyoto was a lot of fun. Here are some photos:

10/24/2006 7:56:02 PM

miki-sama miki-sama ohioki kibonnu!

10/24/2006 8:08:22 PM

Quote :

"have you been to one of those sushi bars with the conveyer belt? I've always wanted to do that"

Sushi-go-round! It was nice because you could get exactly what you wanted, but it was a tad pricey.

Quote :

"I so badly want to go to a sumo basho. And shop on the Ginza. "

I saw baby sumo wrestling.

Some ginzas are really nice and fun to shop in (if a tad confusing with directions...like the disney store being on the semi-top level behind a bunch of other stores through a skyway), but some are CRAPPY and only have creepy old people clothes and blankets. Basically big city shopping versus small city shopping.

[Edited on October 24, 2006 at 8:16 PM. Reason : merf]

10/24/2006 8:14:53 PM

10/25/2006 7:43:54 PM

^^ ginza in tokyo? did u come to tokyo?

10/26/2006 1:00:48 PM

This weekend we hiked to the top of Mount Shizugatake. Those of you who have studied Japanese history might know where that is.

It was pretty high up:


Which meant the climb was a bitch:


Apparently there's no such thing as switchbacks in Japan.


We also had to contend with zombie bears.

10/29/2006 6:54:34 PM

Do people still play the sakahachi there much?

10/29/2006 6:59:46 PM

I've seen it played at festivals sometimes.

10/29/2006 7:01:25 PM

We went to the aquarium in Osaka. One of the best I've ever seen:


Jellyfish


Whaleshark


Spider crabs

11/9/2006 1:45:24 AM

Quote :

"I was saddened when after talking to the only Japanese girl that I have ever met that I knew more about Japanese history and customs than she did."

1. This is the norm.

Quote :

"If I may ask, how "Americanized" have the people become in Japan? "

2. You can pick any country at any time in history, and the average person would know very little about history preceding them.
3. I don't know what vision you have in your head, but people don't carry around samurai swords and are not interested in making real whatever you saw in anime/movies/tv shows.

11/9/2006 1:58:42 AM

Wow, that's pretty insulting. White man did a pretty decent job at making sure people no longer adhear to the ways of the samurai. My point in asking was if it was her observation that Japanese have an over fascination with all things western or "American". This also stems from hearing how Japanese weddings have become more westernized while abandoning their rich Shinto customs.

11/9/2006 2:46:52 AM

^The young people especially seem to like crap with weird half English sayings on them. I brought back a few souvenirs like that.

No Diesel, I didn't make it to Tokyo.

11/9/2006 7:34:52 AM

Quote :

"people don't carry around samurai swords and are not interested in making real whatever you saw in anime/movies/tv shows"

hahahhahhaahahah

ahaha oh shit

11/9/2006 7:40:56 AM

^^^ Young people do western weddings because they are cheaper and require less practice. I've seen the amount of work that goes into a Shinto wedding, and unless you have strong religious Shinto beliefs I couldn't see going through all the work required.

Some pictures from Fukui:


Taken from the train on our ride up there.


Sunset over the Sea of Japan.


Entrance to a Shinto shrine on the cliffs.

11/19/2006 7:04:03 PM

i would like to point out how badly HockeyRoman got pwnt in this thread

11/19/2006 7:39:54 PM

i would like to point out great wolfpackgrrr is at taking pictures!

you should make a calendar of the best ones and send them to your peeps back home as gifts

11/19/2006 7:56:22 PM

Quote :

"i would like to point out how badly HockeyRoman got pwnt in this thread"

Really? How so? For asking a simple question and getting a smartass answer based on a false premise? If that's what counts as getting "pwnt" these days then T-dub has really gone downhill.

Yes, the pictures are awesome. Especially the ones pertaining to Shinto shrines as I can't seem to find any here in Jesusland.

11/19/2006 8:15:06 PM

i might be moving to okinawa in 1.5 years...anyone ever lived there?

11/19/2006 8:19:11 PM

^^^ Thanks I've actually thought about doing that for Christmas next year.

^ I know some people who have lived there and loved it, but also said that you shouldn't be surprised if you encounter natives who hate America.

11/19/2006 8:47:10 PM

Fall has finally come. Have the leaves already changed in Raleigh?

11/22/2006 4:12:57 AM

great pics i'd like to go there sometime

11/22/2006 4:37:38 AM

yes, they've definately changed and it was really pretty until the bitter cold rain and strong wind came. now it sucks going outside (atleast for now)

those last pics are beautiful. my brother lived in okinawa for 4 yrs and loved it. he plans on moving back when he retires.

11/22/2006 5:43:54 AM

i heard some stuff about japanese girls... and i hope they're all true

11/22/2006 5:45:26 AM

Some pics from Kitano Tenmangu shrine.



Your back aches. What do you do? You pet the cow's back and you're healed! Your head aches. Pet the cow's head and you're healed again!



Purifying before entering the temple.



There were a lot of people at the temple for a Monday.
~~~

Hopefully I will have more interesting pictures after the weekend. New Years is a huge deal here and I live near a couple of lively temples.

12/26/2006 6:40:31 PM

that's awesome

one of my friends is teaching english over there. i'm jealous as hell.

12/26/2006 7:37:11 PM

It's easy to do as long as you have a degree. Japan won't give out work visas to Americans unless you have a degree.

12/26/2006 7:38:50 PM

Quote :

"Your back aches. What do you do? You pet the cow's back and you're healed! Your head aches. Pet the cow's head and you're healed again!"

What if your nuts hurt?

Also, do a lot of people walk around wearing SARS/Bird Flu masks?

[Edited on December 26, 2006 at 7:45 PM. Reason : ]

12/26/2006 7:44:44 PM

Then you rub his nuts (and yes, sometimes these cows do have nuts).

Yeah, people wear those masks when they have a cold to keep others from being infected. Too bad my coworkers don't and proceed to infect with every disease in Japan

12/26/2006 7:51:27 PM

JAPAN FOUR

12/26/2006 7:55:30 PM

does it pay well?

12/27/2006 2:15:04 AM

It worked out to a salary of about $50,000. They also pay for your plane ticket there and back, pay for your commute to/from work, and subsidize your housing if you are hired through the Japanese government.

12/27/2006 4:17:30 AM

Some pictures from our snowstorm:

12/28/2006 9:31:44 PM

The snow won't end. There's probably a foot out there by now.

12/29/2006 9:00:13 PM

Yay! Thanks! You made my desktop !

12/29/2006 9:14:33 PM

wowzers, A+++ thread

12/29/2006 9:16:22 PM

how pretty

12/29/2006 9:16:28 PM

more schoolgirls

12/29/2006 9:19:50 PM

Here's some schoolgirls just for you 69

12/29/2006 9:32:00 PM