Tokyo Life – learning Nihongo (Japanese)

So I’ve been living to Tokyo now for the past 3 weeks and it has truly been a blast. The people are kind, the food is amazing and it is as exciting and crazy as you want it to be. (will write a separate post with other activities).

Given I’m here for a while I thought I’d make the effort to try and learn some language basics. Language not being my strongest asset, as my BBC (British born Chinese) friends will attest my Cantonese sucks big time. But the main reason for learning is mainly out of courtesy to the locals. As Brits I feel we tend to fall into the trap of speaking English to foreign visitors and try and get by with broken English when abroad. I’ve always tried to pick things up when abroad for basic conversational politeness, but Japanese was always going to be something different. One they don’t commonly use Romanised characters and I’m conscious its a culture that has even more formality and traditions than the Chinese ones I’m partially aware of.

I’ve signed myself up for 3 weeks intensive course which consist of 3 hours of lessons a day. The hope is it will give me an opportunity to explore and experience Tokyo, whilst developing some language basics.

Lessons so far have been pretty tough. Sentence structure seems alien and lots of different particle words which join other words and seems to vary for every sentence type I learn. Its a bit Yoda-esk so I’m keen to watch Star Wars in Japanese to see if he speak with an English word order. A quick google search later and seems its not just me that thinks so:

Numbers too are challenging. They have a unit for 10,000s with a handful of exception variations for some units which augment the base number. Then they have a different number set for dates, counting objects (like ordering stuff), floors in a building.
Lots of augmentations for words for negatives, past tense and negative past tense depending on the ending letter and the direction the wind is blowing at the time.

Then I’m also trying the learn the Hirigana character set which is like the basic alphabet that typically a vowel ending sounds.

Not even going to try and learn the kanji set which I’m told I need to know 2000-3000 characters to read a newspaper. With it’s inheritance from from the Chinese character set I do recognise a few that helps me determined if I want a big or small flush of the water closet.

My class is comprised of two french body builders who work out all week and party all weekend. They are good fun, but lewd connotations toward the unaware staff start to get tiresome after two weeks. Feel they aren’t here for the same culture experience as I, but try to make the most of the interaction for conversations.

Lessons continue to be tough but Ben helps me daily, correcting my incorrect pronunciation and I practice some phrases with some very kind Japanese friends I’ve made, as well as some unfortunate staff at various Japanese shops.

A couple more lessons to go and feel I’ve got some basic formalities under my belt, but need a fair bit of practice before daring to engage in any real conversation. Working on a few conversational sentence for the back pocket standard conversations with a lot of help from my friends, but I’m in hope that will be enough to show the locals I’m making an effort with their language and culture.

Myoko Kogen

On New Years day we make a transit to Myoko Kogen which is about an hour away. The resort is even more primitive than Nozawa, but I’m promised good snow and runs and I’m not disappointed.

The lodge was pretty basic and seemed almost industrial except for the rooms. Food was again a wide array of dishes, but most of the gaijins were not that impressed, more due to the repetitiveness. I however was amazed with the spread

Breakfast was an experience to say the least. My first introduction to Nato. A fermented soya bean dish that is mixed with soya sauce and rice. One of the gaijin warn me, but as most of you will know I’m a pretty adventurous eater and brush the comments to the side. I’ve eaten plenty of fermented dishes in my time and loved them all. Not so much with this bad boy. Slimy, stringy and the stick of rotten flesh is the best way I can describe it. I ate it, but it wasn’t something I’d rush back for if I’m honest. Ben however hoovered it in 10 seconds flat. I’d put the slowness down to the time of day rather than anything else.

The first day riding was pretty much constantly snowing which doesn’t help much on the visibility but was amazing for the slope conditions. There are no piste bashers in Myoko so the pistes ride like off piste runs. I’m told that when conditions are extremely heavy they just have to close the runs because there is too much snow.

There is a pretty large group of us and its a great day’s riding with the sun coming out toward the end of the day. There is a huge queue for the top lift which only opens at 11. We hit some amazing knee deep powder on what is ordinarily a mogul field which we only determine after hundreds of people have flattened out the fresh snow by the afternoon. Ben and I get stuck in powder a number of times and its a fair work out to get out again. I soon get to grips with the ‘bum shuffle’, ‘backward rollie pollie’ and ‘roll lots till I build up enough momentum to stand up’ techniques. Combined with the dig like a gopher they work out to be pretty effective techniques. However managing body temperatures in what are probably -10c and digging for England to get free, turns out to be more a challenge. Next objective – don’t fall over in the powder so much!

The next day we hit a neighbouring resort which is supposed to be a 15 minute bus ride away. Hope the 3 amigos that morning managed to get off a stop too early. We only realised when we tried to redeem our lift passes to which we were clearly told we were in the wrong place. We proceed to wait 40 minutes for the next bus to arrive but were met with the most amazing blue sky back drop

Shane takes Hans and I through some drop off the top lift which is basically follows the chair down.

We meet Zuma for another couple of runs. A great challenging number of run down, but a bout of flu has got the better of me so I stop for a ramen lunch in the hope it will sort me out. I decide to call it day and head to the cafe at the bottom and wait for the others to finish to get the coach back. Mainly because I had no clue which one to get and didn’t want a repeat of this morning.

I spend the next couple of days trying to recover and work my way through my entire paracetamol supply to only discover its quite hard to get anything in this pretty remote and basic resort. I do discover that pot ramen here is amazing though. It’s pretty tough staying in whilst seeing the copious amounts of snow falling outside.

Various people make their own way back over the next couple of days due to scare stories of previous 8 hour delays due to snow storms. We make our way back on the chartered bus which after all that noise takes just shy of 3 hours. Ben and I then navigate our way back to his apartment on the JR train network and head out to an izakaya (Japanese bar) where small dishes are served. An incredible experience. Firstly because the draft beer here are incredibly smooth, more so with the Yebisu Premium which I discover like all beers here are always served perfectly chilled and like our continental counterparts with a hefty head. It was a thing of beauty. We accompanied that with some grilled tongue (cow I think), asparagus and some beef brisket. An amazing end to a great ski trip.

New year in Japan

Very randomly Zoe, a friend from London had moved to Tokyo and was also in Nozawa Onsen with her friend and mother so we caught up over a few drinks.

Luckily not too heavy a night as it was pretty eventful new years eve boarding that followed.

I decided to join some of the significant better riders to try improve my skills. One of the regular boarders decided to switch to piste skis for the day, but the pack had opted to hunt for some back country powder anyway.

A few runs in and we had to walk a fair bit at the bottom so we looked for some other routes down. Unfortunately this untracked run ended in a twisted skiers knee. She wasn’t able to walk out the pretty steep entry we just dropped in on and the walk out was definitely too long. The snow was about waist deep, so between the other snowboarder and skier we made a makeshift sledge with snowboard and two ski poles. I attempted to flattened what felt like 100m of steep and deep snow so we could haul the casualty up. Two of us pulled while the other pushed from behind. An hour and a half later, and a few renditions of eye of the tiger to keep spirits up, we managed to finally get back to a tracked route (see video below) and then the piste where we were able to call the piste patrol for medical attention and skidoo ride to the bottom.

I caught up with Ben for a very late lunch and a couple of afternoon runs before the obligatory onsen, dinner and nap to try shake off the jet lag before the New Year celebrations.

Dinners continue to be a massive spread of assorted Japanese and J Style western foods

The locals put on a firework display at the base of the gondola every year. As we arrived some people were night skiing down and the announcements over the speakers was only hurry them off the mountain.

A great atmosphere and pretty impressive firework display and champagne helped us see in the new year in style.

I sincerely wish you all a great 2014 and that it is full of things that will make you lives more complete and happy x

First taste of Japanese Snow

After a pretty boozy night out getting to know the rest of the tour group we are woken at 7am by a tanoy announcement in Japanese for what I think is the breakfast call.Still pretty jet lagged, but the thought of hitting the mountain gets me up. I fuel up and get set up.

Discover the most amazing honey and butter combo disposable dispenser. I’ll let the photos do the talking: I had been pre warned about the dated infrastructure here compared to Europe/US and low and behold there was a 2 man calf chopper waiting for us. Most of the regulars shoot off by I spend the morning with Ben while he finds his feet. We hit some pretty cool piste runs and a bit of park and it definitely as great as everyone said it would be. Wide pistes with nice dusting of snow.

We hit a late lunch by the top of the gondola and have the most amazing steak and rice and ramen for lunch. All the steak in Japan seems to have incredible marbling which makes it just melt in your mouth (and probably solidify in your arteries).

Another cool contraption is the auto beers dispenser that pours the perfect head:

We catch most of the others at lunch. Ben sticks to the piste for the afternoon whilst I follow 3 others including Ricky the organiser on some back country runs. I stack it a few times getting used to the thigh deep powered and dodgy small branches of trees, but have an incredible time. Getting out of such deep snow when falling is a challenge, but I soon get the hang of rolling and getting up. Starting to feel the jet lag a bit more, knowing full well I have the season ahead of me and not wanting to over do it I decide to call it a day. Lifts close early here (3.30pm) so had a decent innings. We head for the onsen when the others return which was an experience in itself. For less than 3 quid you get to soak in some amazing natural hot springs which have a pretty powerful sulphur smell. There are some free onsens in the town, but the temperature is not regulated and the facilities are pretty basic. A quick rinse before opting for the outdoor onsen and a nice long soak with all hanging free relaxes the muscles after a hard days boarding.On reflection a very interesting cultural difference. On one side you have a very conforming, obedient and fairly private society that rarely appears to break the rules that thinks nothing of baring it all in front of strangers; in comparison back home you have a pretty liberal and more controversial society that covers up all modesty without fail. Even in a changing room.

Tokyo Gaijin – Nozawa Onsen

So I learn Gaijin is anyone who is not native Japanese and the group we are joining will be mainly Gaijin who live/work out of Tokyo. Should be a good opportunity meet some people and expand the social circle.

The first destination we are heading to is a Hot Spring (Onsen) town where we will be joining the tour 2 days late. Just the thought of a nice hot soak after a long hard day’s boarding has got me excited. Can’t f-king wait!

Still 100% dependent on Ben getting us there we need to some how get to the Tokyo JR Station which is on the mainline rail network. We can either drag our now reduced luggage through the metro network or try find a cab that will fit our snowboards.

We head out to look for a cab, but everything that drives by seems the same jazz as at the airport: inadequate to cope with the sizeable boardbags.

We test our luck and flag one of them down. The same trial and error protocol is executed with the driver first trying to fit the board bags across the back seats. Ben and I look at each other as if to say “where the hell are we going to sit?”. Ben tries to suggest dropping the seats down, but the taxi seems to be LPG and has a jock off tank between the trunk and the back seat. He tries to angle one of the bags into his trunk and to be fair wasn’t far off. Then as if by magic he whips out a random length of strap and proceeds to tie his boot lid down.

I acknowledge Ben’s comment from earlier about just letting them get on with it. I was pretty amazed at the lengths this guy went to just to ensure he was able to service our needs whilst in the middle of the main road (taxis seem to pull in anywhere!). The first of many experiences where the Japanese will go to any lengths to try and accommodate you.

The taxi drops us off right outside Tokyo JR station and we buy tickets for Nagano from there a bus transfer to Nozawa Onsen. We miss the next train by literally minutes, but doesn’t seem so bad as the next one is in 30 minutes. At Nagano we realise that we’ve just missed a bus by 15 minutes and the next one isn’t for another hour and a half!

We are in no real rush so Ben manages to locate a tiny little restaurant that specialises in Unagi a short walk from the station.

We drag our bags over and the proprietors move mountains so we can be seated and our cumbersome luggage accommodated. I try to sit down on the tables which appear lower than normal western standards and struggle to fit my thigh between the top of the chair seat and the underside of the table top. A nod of acknowledgement from Ben from the other side of the table that he is having the same issue puts a smile on my faces and I make myself as comfortable as possible. The owner brings over a menu of which there appears to be 2 options, regular or large. Ben orders us 2 large and they proceed to bring over the standard, hot flannel, tea and little dishes of pickled vegetables.

The main dish arrives and its first of many amazing eateries Ben takes me to. Never had such soft, flavour packed and plentiful Unagi. The side dish of softly poached sweet apple pieces balance out the flavours really well.

We head to the coach stop a little early to queue for seats and Ben assures me the coach will leave on schedule. The coach driver got on the bus after loading everything with 30 seconds to spare. With 10 seconds to go he pokes his head out the door to see if there are any passengers running for the bus and pulls off smack on time. Amazing. Though I will always wonder if we would have still left on time if someone had been running for the coach with 10 pieces of luggage.

Managed to sleep most of the journey so didn’t take any photos, but what I did see, as I drifted in and out, was a crisp sun lit flat landscape with a mountain range in the distance, all of which was covered in snow. We arrive in Nozawa Onsen and located our lodge and sleeping quarters. Was fairly surprised that it was basically a room with tatami mats laid out with futons and blankets by the people who were already staying there.

We are soon joined by our roomies: Mai-Chan the crazy, but adorable Swiss educated Japanese girl, Xue the German Chinese with a very British education and Shane the Ozzie snowboard extraordinaire.

I get to hear their adventures from the days riding which get me excited for tomorrow. I get the call of nature so venture to the gents and get more than I bargain for in my first J toilet experience. The actually facilities in the lodge seemed fairly basic with the cold mountain air coming in through an open window. Thought this was going to be primitive. But when I sat down and was greeted by a nice warm seat. I definitely need me one of these!

When I was finished I couldn’t find the flusher, but did notice a Knight Rider like console to my right. I surveyed my options and though the icon with the flowing water might be my best bet. A warm jet of water then proceeded to clean my poo poo hole. Genius really! I continued to sit there thinking this may come to a predetermined end when the water started to get cold and thought I better do something here. I then hit the button with the person’s head (don’t ask the logic behind this decision, because I have no idea). As another jet of water then proceeded to target my testicles it dawned on me that the image on the button was that of a women and this feature was to clean women’s bits. I sort myself out and head back to the room to share my water closet adventure with my room mates who are in stitches.

Destination Tokyo

28-12-13 – You’ll have to bear with me a little while I play catch up on these blog posts

So I thought it would make sense to ease into the Japanese experience by catching the same flight Ben so I didn’t need to deal with the initial language barrier and logistics to get to my final destination.

With both of us with snowboard and large amounts of luggage in tow, I ordered us a car to come pick us up from mine at 5am in the morning for the 8am flight. I made a bit of a balls up with the online checkin so had to change my seat next to Ben’s on arrival at the airport.

From packing my bags to checking in at the airport I was in a proper flap. I can’t remember the last time I felt such a sense of nervousness. I think mainly due to the thought of forgetting something essential for my 3 month trip. Ben was looking at me like I was a man possessed as I do the pocket pat panic dance on 3 separate occasions for my keys, phone and wallet behind from closing the front door to my flat to checking into the airport.

After a quick browse in the shops we headed for the lounge for a bit to eat and a much needed 6am glass of chardonnay.

A quick browse of the morning’s business periodicals laters and it was last call for our flight. Oops!

It was Ben’s turn to look a little concerned as I tried to unconvincingly look him in the eye and tell him it would be fine at which point we both increased our pace to a brisk walk to the gate via the transfer train.

A glass of champagne, breakfast, 6 Johnnie Walker and ginger ales, 2 films a nap and fillet steak dinner later we had landed in Haneda airport at 4.30am local time the next day.

Pretty quiet at the airport so early in the morning so get to immigration and customs pretty quickly. I discover at immigration that my previous research that UK passport holders are allowed a 6 month automatically visa is not entirely true.

The immigration officer not very helpfully or knowledgeable tells me I only have a 90 day visa and I’m just going to have to change my flight which on reconnection to the world confirm through the embassy website is not the case and I just need to go visit an immigration office to get it extended.

Next challenge. Get our obscene amount of luggage from Haneda airport to Ben’s apartment. We opt for the easier option of the taxi rank. My first experience of Japanese efficiency.

There are taxis as far as the eye can see and if I squint enough I can just about make out a mini people carrier that might just fit our luggage, but the local protocol insists that the taxi’s must be used in order of arrival to the rank. With no impending queue to utilise the endless number of taxis it was going to be a long wait for us to even get a chance even checking if that people carrier would have enough capacity to fit us and our luggage.

The front most taxi drivers and the taxi steward huddle together and appear to discuss what a pickle we are now in and Ben and I look on and weigh up our public transport options.

What seemed like ten minutes later the taxi steward pulls out a laminated card with 5 different numbers on it and shouts out “JUMBO TAXI!” to which to my ignorant ears Ben replies in some local tones, words and gestures of agreement and elation.

Within 90 seconds of Ben calling one of the numbers, a people carrier appears and the driver proceeds to load our luggage to his vehicle in what appears to be a process of complete trial and error as if he had never had to load luggage into his taxi from an airport pick up before. I step forward to try and give the guy a hand when Ben murmurs some advice from past experience “You just have to let them get on with it”. Not out of selfishness I should add, more the indication that no matter how we try to help they need to go through their own process to make it work.

No more than 30 minutes later we have arrived at Ben’s apartment. We repack our bags, shower and head for Nozawa Onsen.

Well here goes

I’ve always been meaning to start a blog for many years now. Partly since reading Imgladitsmeandnotyou amongst others, but largely to give credit to the some of the amazing places I’ve eaten in or visited. The challenge has always been time, with time pressures of work and splash of plain laziness.

Well after nearly 9 years of full on corporate life, I’ve decided to take a bit of a break (3 months) before it’s too late to do so.

Since planning my round the world trip in 2004, Japan always been somewhere I’ve always wanted to experience.

Rob and I on our round the world tour in 2004

Unfortunately it was not feasible to do so due to time and money at that time. Since then I’ve never thought a 2 week holiday would allow me to experience the all things I would like to do. In that time the desire has only ever increased.

Ben and I back in 2008

So when one of my good friends, Ben told me that he was being seconded to Tokyo for work on my last birthday it was the perfect opportunity to plan some sort of trip to go and put closure to that desire to explore Japan.

So on this trip I plan to do a few things:

Travel and experience the amazing history and culture that has always fascinated me;

eat my way through the true Japan;

and snowboard the legendary powder covered mountains I’ve heard so much about.

Keep checking in or subscribe if you want to follow me on my cultural and culinary adventure in Japan and beyond, but you’ll have to bear with me while I get used to this blogging lark.

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Month: January 2014