TheIESExpress

The Newsletter for International Education Services
February-March 2006
IESExpress
The
LOCAL TRAVEL:
Nikko Suave
A mountain spa getaway,
on the classier side of things
by 'Mister Onsen'
I have done a lot of traveling on the cheap.
Trust me, I know how to get there, have a
good look around, and get back home with
minimal impact on the personal finances.
But sometimes you've just got to treat
yourself. I had been to Nikko once before, and
I was impressed, and amazed at how
accessible it was from Tokyo. Just a couple of
hours on the train, and you're there. However
on that occasion, I'd only had about half a day
to take in the sightseeing, and in Nikko, that's
just not enough.
So I decided to take my lady friend up there
for the weekend. I hadn't gone home to
Canada for Christmas, nor purchased any
guitars or expensive electronic toys, so the
finances were looking pretty good, and just
ripe for some gratuitous spending.
I have little or no taste for luxury. But I will
confess a longtime dream... something a bit
luxurious, and quintessentially Japanese:
sitting in an outdoor rotenburo in the
wintertime. I know, as dreams go it's nothing
spectacular, but hey, I'm a simple man. Just
the idea of soaking in that steaming bath,
warm sake in hand, cool breezes on your face
as the snow falls all around you -- I'd always
wanted to do that. Throw in a bit of privacy
and you're pretty close to heaven.
So I hit the 'net and did a bit of research. I
was looking for any hotel in the Nikko area
that had private rotenburo baths built into the
guest rooms.
My companion did her research too, and between
the two of us we found a couple of suitable hotels,
and compared our notes.
She happened onto the website for the Hotel
Shikisai, a classy looking lodge up in the
mountains just above Nikko proper.
The photos looked impressive, and the prices were
similarly… um… impressive, for lack of a better
word. Evidently if I wanted to live out my luxurious
rotenburo dream I was going to have to pay for it…
to the tune of about 56000 Yen per night.
But there was only one room left, so I didn't hesitate
too long. We quickly made the reservations (which
amazingly, in Japan, you can usually do without a
credit card).
contimued
NIKKO
Getting to Nikko is easy as pie from nearly any part
of Tokyo. We opted to spend the extra 1500 Yen for
the 'comfort' car, which isn't much of a step up from
punter class, except that you're guaranteed a seat.
The Hotel Shikisai offers a complementary shuttle
bus twice daily up the mountains from Nikko
Station, however we dilly-dallied a bit too long and
missed it. Instead, we took the local Tobu bus,
which offered quite a lovely yet hair-raising ride up
the mountain along twisty snowy roads.
After half an hour we'd reached the placid waters
Lake Chuzenji, where we climbed out and met up
with the awaiting hotel shuttle bus, which brought
us to the nearby hotel.
Two very large deer greeted us upon arrival, then
scampered when the concierge appeared. We
definitely weren't in Tokyo any more.
The rooms were
enormous by
Japanese
standards, and
left absolutely
nothing out.
Comfortable,
modernist, and
traditional at the
same time.
The hotel did not disappoint. From our very wellappointed and spacious room, we had a spectacular
view of the mountains.
There was a bit of suspense however, when I tried
to fill up the rotenburo. The faucet was spurting
water absolutely everywhere except into the tub
itself, evidently due to a huge crack in the piping.
We rang the hotel manager, who ineffectually
fiddled with it a bit, gave up, and stammered and
blushed. I decided to bend down myself and
MacGyver the tap into submission with a hand
towel and a plastic bag. Fixed! The manager
blushed further and promised a discount for the
trouble. My companion and I shared knowing
smiles.
We quickly filled up the tub and our rock glasses
and hopped in. The view: nothing but nature. Yesss.
From there on, everything was perfect. Rarely have I
taken a trip where everything went so well
Beyond the hotel, the next day was a very satisfying
sightseeing endeavor. Riding the bus down the
mountain toward the temples, we spotted an
enormous wild monkey seated on a stump. The furry
fellow and I shared a glance of common
understanding as the bus pulled away: 'rotenburo
goooood.'
The multi-course
dinner and breakfast
were both marvelous
-- far and away some
of the best meals I've
had in Japan.
It seems that we are constantly underwhelmed by
things that promise so much more than they deliver.
But relaxing in those steamy waters, sipping sake,
gazing at the snowy peaks, and listening to the
absolute silence, I could see that for once, we got
everything we'd expected and more.
<<<
BOOK REVIEW
Kanji Pict-o-Graphix
by Michael Rowley
They're
truly the bane of anyone studying the
Japanese language. Those squiggly hieroglyphic
thingys that offer absolutely no semantic clues
whatsoever as to what the word might actually
mean. They even stump the natives sometimes.
Yes, I'm talking about the kanji.
Rote memorization methods, vocal repetition, and
numbered charts all seem to miss the entire point:
the kanji are pictorial characters. They visually
represent something from the real world. Wouldn't
it be nice if someone could show what they
represent, and where the symbol originally came
from?
Enter Kanji Pict-O-Graphix, a bold new guide
from a guy who's not a spectacle-twisting linguanerd, but rather an imaginative and very wellorganized graphic designer. By his own admission,
Michael Rowley is no Japanese scholar. However,
with the help of those in the know, he has
organized 1000 of the most commonly used kanji
into a thick but impressively easy to use reference
guide.
Rowland's graphics are immediately striking,
which is exactly what you need when you're
scrambling to memorize the darn things in time for
that fast-approaching JLPT exam you've avoided
studying for.
One caveat: the book organizes kanji by
conceptual groups and radicals, and not by the
standard numbering system generally used in kanji
study. For example, 人 (hito, jin) doesn't even
appear until around the middle of the book. So be
prepared to spend a lot of time thumbing through
the index, which is thankfully provided at the
back, and lists all kanji by both their Chinese and
Japanese names.
Konishiki seems to
appear everywhere these
days.
This excerpt shows the
artist's conception of the
origin of the kanji for
"body"
Most interpretations
have historical basis,
while others are the
h '
The book is very well organized and easy to use.
However my only complaint again lies with the nonlinear layout. In most kanji study books (including
those used by Japanese elementary school students),
they are listed 1,2,3 in order of priority. The most
commonly-used kanji are learned first. The JLPT
tests reflect this priority scale. So let's say you want
to study for the JLPT-4 (the easiest one) which
requires you to recognize one hundred kanji.
This is a minor complaint however, as the book is
quite brilliantly done. I've found myself quickly
absorbing some difficult characters that otherwise I
wouldn't have been able to do without a lot of
repetitive study and scribbling.
It's also quite useful for differentiating between very
similar kanji. A lot of them employ common
'radicals' (the side bits to the left or the top of the
character) and because the book is grouped
according to these radicals, it's a snap to see the
difference between two similar kanji that would
otherwise throw you.
Overall, an excellent guide. Highly recommend for
anyone struggling with those fascinating
hieroglyphics.
Spend a few days
locked inside
studying kanji and
you'll know exactly
how this guy feels.
This excerpt shows
the historical
origin of the
characterfor
"prisoner"
Note the
explanations at the
bottom for the
radicals "enclosed"
and "person."
AROUND TOWN: HANAMI 2006
Here’s our third annual roundup of
the cherry blossom festival, from
three Tokyo city parks
UENO PARK
Clientele: absolutely every conceivable Tokyo
demographic is represented en masse.
Although I’m a shitamachi guy myself, I really do
not understand why so many people like going to
Ueno Park for hanami.
With its smelly faux-lake, cramped and depressingly
outdated zoo, overpruned trees, and swarming
legions of plastic-seated drunken salarymen, I just
don’t understand the attraction.
Great museums, but who wants to spend hanami
indoors looking at paintings of cherry blossoms?
INOKASHIRA
PARK
Clientele: blithering college students, macrame
distributors, willfully romantic couples seeking true
romance in the form of a small swan-shaped boat
SHINJUKUGYOEN
Clientele: families, couples
Apparently last year there were so many complaints
from the residents of Kichijoji about hanami
shenanigans that this year the police were deployed in
legions to clear the park out briskly at dusk.
This is one of Tokyo’s more wholesome and
civilised places to attend hanami.
Drinking is officially forbidden (although I spotted
quite a few imbibing) which makes it a more familyoriented spot.
This year the blossoms seemed to open up at
different times, resulting in some bare patchy trees,
but overall the park was quite lovely and really quite
remarkably peaceful, given that it’s right smack in
the middle of Shinjuku.
One annoyance was that the park “cops” irritatingly
rushed the masses out at 4pm on the dot. Bullhorns
were not a welcome sound at the end of such a calm
and peaceful day.
Otherwise highly recommended any time of year.
Standing in the huge ticket line at Shinjuku-gyoen
Which was a shame, because much like at Shinjuku
Gyoen, everyone was just having a very nice time,
and the whole bullhorns-and-floodlights routine was
just complete overkill.
Still, Inokashira Park was an enjoyable party while it
lasted. Hopefully next year again they’ll let the fun
continue well into the night without sending the
sakura-gestapo in the break up the party.
All in all, a very satisfying hanami this year. I’m
already looking forward to hana-bi in July!
The Newsletter for International Education Services
June-July 2006
IESExpress
The
LOCAL TRAVEL:
Our intrepid reporter gets away from
the city in style! Well.. gets away from
the city, at least.
by The Busboy
I recently had my first experience taking a bus tour
in Japan. It was the middle of Golden Week -clearly not the most strategic time to begin
planning a tour through inner Japan.
But my girlfriend was giving me the old “we never
go out any more” (guys, you know what I’m
talking about) and I had to concur that we hadn’t
taken a daytrip for ages. So we both set about
looking for last-minute tours.
You can tell Hato Bus is old-school. Although
they get tens of thousands of foreign tourists every
year, much of their official website in gleefully
mangled English. I mean, how much does it cost to
pay somebody to proofread these things? Come on
guys – make the investment.
My girl had better luck on the Japanese website.
After a couple of hours of muttering “dame” and
“yada-“ she stumbled onto an interesting bus tour
that seemed to have some availability, consisting
of: tea-picking, hiking, and shopping.
Now I would have considered leaf-picking to be
firmly in the “manual labor” category. But since
last minute beggars can’t be choosers, we went
ahead and booked it.
Being a city-slicker I do get a kick out of farms.
And I’d never really seen much of the Japanese
heartland, except for that unfortunate occasion
The HATO empire seems to span the nation, with its instantly
recognizable buses crisscrossing everywhere
when my buddy and I ended up in the middle of
Tochigi completely by accident, carrying our
surfboards. But hey, that’s another story..
This tour was scheduled to make a big loop through
rural tea-growing country, through the mountains for
some light hiking, then down into Hakone for some
shopping, and back to Tokyo.
The tour began at the Hamamatsu-cho bus terminal
(as many Hato tours do) at the crack of dawn – not my
favourite time of day, but hey, what are buses for if
not for sleeping?
Or so I thought. I quickly learned that every Japanese
bus tour has guide whose responsibility is to speak..
constantly… without… ever.. stopping.. for… breath.
Not content to merely explain points of interest, this
woman (who had the kind of grating, gravelly voice)
continued
BUS TOUR
felt it necessary to fill EACH and EVERY moment
of silence with jokes, asides, and . She even joked
that a previous tour had politely asked her to stop
talking so much. Apparently this subtle hint went
unheeded.
After about two-plus hours of driving (and tour
guide chatter) we arrived at our first stop, the tea
farm. After the endless grey blur of Tokyo it was
wonderful to see so much green. Fields stretching to
the horizon, and silence – oh, the wonderful silence.
The forty-odd bus tour guests were ushered into a
communal changeroom. (It was here that I noticed
the demographics of our tour: about 85% female,
age 35-plus)
We were given authentic farm clothes to wear. This
was great fun. We got the whole kit and caboodle,
right down to the bandanna and straw basket.
A tea farming expert led the group to the fields
where we were given about 25 minutes to pick away
to our hearts’ content. Though there is a certain
technique to picking the best leaves, so rushing does
you no good.
Our baskets, full, we were led back to the main
building to change clothes again and assess our
bounty of leaves, and do some food shopping.
After a lovely lunch (included in the 8000 fare) the
next stop on the tour involved some light hiking.
The scenery quite surprised me, as it reminded me of
places back home in North Vancouver, such as Lynn
Canyon. I confess that for a moment, staring into
those blue waterfalls, I felt just a bit homesick.
We were then herded back into the bus for the final
leg of our tour, bringing us through the mountains
above Hakone, which offered some great views.
Our bus turned back toward Tokyo, cutting through
Hon-Atsugi on the way for a bit more shopping.
Another two hours (and many more tour guide
muttered-streams-of-consciousness) later, we were
back in Tokyo, arms full of accumulated foodstuffs.
Not to mention a big bag of fresh, great-smelling tea.
All in all a very satisfying daytrip. Check the Hato
site for more ideas.
AROUND TOWN: WORLD CUP 2006
Around town everyone’s getting a bit of World
Cup fever -- Tokyo style
The author was somehow able to secure a view of the big
screen only partially obscured by human heads
until one of our more fetching female companions
managed to sweet talk the staff into letting us in. I
don’t know what she said to him but we’re definitely
bringing her next time.
Forking over the 1000-yen door charge (not
unreasonable considering the circumstances) we were
given some kind of security wristband and whisked
down a darkened hallway to the elevators, which
mysteriously only stop on the fifth floor.
Inside, the Atom proved to be a mini Thunderdometype atmosphere, and the place was absolutely
jumping. I saw precisely zero other foreigners in the
joint. I wouldn’t have wanted to be a Croatia fan.
Rabid soccer fans stacked to the rafters
in a dance bar in Shibuya’s Dogen-zaka district
I
arrived in Tokyo at the end of 2002, sadly just
missing the World Cup when it was here. Japan’s
solid performance on their home turf, and the
recent success of exports like Nakata and
Kawaguchi overseas, have clearly whipped up
national soccer enthusiasm.
So now as compensation I felt it necessary to
come out and support Team Japan in 2006.
My friends and I decided to plan early. We knew
every bar in Shibuya would be packed to the
rafters so we decided to get an early start, meeting
at Hachiko at 8:00 to find a good place long
before game time at 10:00.
We chose Atom, a trendy dance club in the
Dogen-zaka (Love Hotel district) which was
offering giant screens – as well as legions of
jubilant nubiles clad scantily in blue. I went for
the big screen.
Even arriving as early as we did, the stone-faced
doormen informed us the club was already over
capacity. We though the mission was a blank
I also seemed to be the only person in the bar over
the age of 24. I usually dress like a grup* when I go
out so I didn’t feel too terribly old.
The crowd was loving it (“rabbing it?”) and as you
might expect, were throbbing for Team Japan. I
literally heard a handful of girls squeal whever
Nakata’s head appeared on the giant screens.
Hmmm... I think I chose the wrong occupation…
With all the beer being chugged and passions running
high, this was unquestionably the most immaculately
behaved crowd of sports-bar spectators I have ever
encountered.
Afterwards, Shibuya crossing was a bit madcap.
Many in the crowd were mesmerized by a group of
policemen trying haplessly to coax an ebullient fan
(his body painted in Team Japan colors) down from
the roof of a subway entrance. But that’s about as
wild as it got. I thought of the mini-riots that
Vancouver seems prone to during times of sports
duress, and I realized how little I miss all that.
Hoo needs hooligans? Not me.
Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup final is coming Monday
night, and maybe I’ll be the one dancing on the
rooftops。
The Newsletter for International Education Services
October-November 2006
IESExpress
The
“LEAVING TOWN”
This is the perfect time of
year to escape the city and
relax amid the wonderfully
laidback, hill-nestled temples
just beyond the fringes
of Tokyo
From the
Express Staff
Tha Big Buddha sees all, and tells you to like, chill out, dude!
I
t’s amazing that I spent two and a half years in
Tokyo without visiting Kamakura. Oh sure, it
was right there in my guidebooks, but somehow,
I never made it there. I thought it would be
nothing special. I mean it was just too darn
nearby and accessible to be interesting, right?
But after a particularly pricey visit to Kyoto and
its environs, I wondered if there was anywhere
closer to home here in Tokyo with that same
kind of authentic old-timey feel, for those
weekends when I wanted to get away without
forking over a fortune.
The first time I visited was in the late
springtime. I hopped on the Tokaido Line from
Tokyo and got off at Kita-Kamakura Station,
which is one stop before Kamakura proper. The
entire trip only took about 50 minutes by local
train.
Getting out at Kita-Kamakura is your best
choice for two reasons. First, the temples around
that station are within easy walking distance and
are particularly lovely. Second, the station is up in
the hills, and thus it’s an easy walk down from
there to Kamakura proper.
Just steps away from Kita-Kamakura station lies
my favorite site in the area, Kencho-ji. It’s a great
example of a Zen Buddhist temple, with its various
buildings arranged in linear symmetry. The first
thing that strikes you about Kencho-ji is the utter
quiet. It’s set deep within the trees, and thus is
gloriously free of modern Japan’s barrage of sonic
distractions. You can see (and hear) why it was
such a good location for zazen meditation.
Several other temples are within easy walking
distance of Kita-Kamakura station. Check out
Tokei-ji, known as the “divorce temple” because
in olden days, women who stayed here for three
years were allowed the right to divorce their
husbands. Kencho-ji, meanwhile is Japan’s oldest
Zen training monastery.
Amid this cluster of temples are surprisingly few
places to stop in and get a bite to eat. Personally
continued
KAMAKURA
I for one welcome Yoshinoya’s distinct absence, however
if you plan on spending more than a couple of hours in
this upper part of Kamakura you’d be advised to pack a
snack to tide you over, otherwise you’ll have to stand in
line outside one of its few small udon shops.
Once you’ve explored the temples of Kita-Kamakura, you
have two basic choices for walking down into the
downtown area. Following the main road downhill is an
easy trot, or you can also grab a local city bus.
However if you are feeling at all ‘genki’ I would strongly
recommend taking the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) Hiking
Trail that starts at Kaizo-ji Temple. It’s a wellmaintained trail, not the least bit grueling, and affords you
some great views of Kamakura city and the ocean below.
The trail, of course, eventually finds its way to the Great
Buddha statue, Kamakura’s unofficial centerpiece. (If
you take the hiking trail, it will probably take about an
hour from Kaizo temple in Kita-Kamakura all the way
down to the big Buddha)
The Daibutsu is quite a large hollow bronze statue, and
rather unusual for Japan, you can get up close and
personal with the big guy. In fact, you can get right
inside, which is actually quite educational, as you can see
how it was forged if you inspect closely enough.
After a long day of temples, trekking, and statue colonics,
you’re probably ready for a good meal. Stroll down
Wakamiya-oji, the main street downtown, for some good
restaurants and souvenir/snack shops. This tree-lined
street is particularly nice in autumn.
Kamakura is right on the seashore, so if you really want
to get away from it all, you can go to Yugihama Beach
and catch the sunset, or jump on the old Enoden tram
line toward any of the other area beaches that stretch
toward Shonan and Enoshima.
With all its nature scenery, history, relaxed shopping,
ocean views, and blessed quiet, Kamakura has so much to
recommend it. And at less than 2000 Yen for a roundtrip
from Tokyo, you really can’t go wrong.
This fall, the Big Buddha’s bowels await! Believe me,
it’s better than it sounds.