One World, One Dream... One Child, One Party.

Meet Chairman Mao, I saw his pickled body!! No joke.

It has taken me almost a week to find an Internet cafe, where my Flickr account (Mom, that's my photo uploading application) wasn't blocked, so there's going to be a lot coming all at once. I've been in China for a week, touring with a an Intrepid group. Intrepid's concept of responsible travel (that is, supporting local businesses that lend themselves to stable economies not based solely on tourism) is pretty nice, but tours are not my cup of green tea. I've never actually been on a voluntary, organized tour. Somehow the structure and instant comradery appealed to me so I decided to feel it out. I have now, never again.

China is nothing like Japan. China is pulsing, and perplexing. There seems to be tons of contradictions. I haven't quite figured out how it all works. Never before have I seen what appears to be a very homogeneous society, friendly and curious, yet insulting a brutal. People either stare at me and laugh, or pretend I'm not even there and barrel straight through me. My goal for the next couple of days is to get to know some locals. They actually speak decent English and are not afraid to talk to me, we'll see how that goes. In the meantime I just need to get my stomach used to the food. Real Chinese food is MUCH, MUCH spicier than you know.


Initial impressions of Chinese people were tarnished by their affinity for incessant spitting, yelling, and pushing. The other day I was talking to a police man, asking for directions. Behind me strolled by what appeared to be nice looking grandma, who from the depths of her bronchials conjured up a sizable loogy and deposited its after-spray on my nicely wrinkled, hand-washed H&M t-shirt. The police man showed signs of embarrassment and upon rebuking the grandma she began to make barking signs toward the sky. "Welcome to Beijing" said one the next passerby.

2nd child?
Kung Fu night at the Red Theatre.
O.k., so peace is cool here, too.
These massive "Beijing 2008" signs cover anything in Beijing that the Communist Party didn't want visitors to see, including neighborhoods, streets and even places where people congregated.
Oh, oh! I rode the fastest train on earth, 430 kph! The Maglev! T-t-t-totally awesome!!!

One of Beijing's ancient Hutongs (narrow streets).

New Beijing is very reminiscent of East Berlin.

Cheap. Safe. Delicious!

One last picture for peace.

Leah getting really excited for the Talking Heads.

Goodbye guys.

If you think about it, most great things in life are at least one of the above. Cheap, safe and delicious is not only the company motto for the multi-national Cup of Noodles corporation, but also sums up my last three days in Japan, oh, I guess "fun" is missing. It all started when Leah came down from Toyota-ama and met me in Kyoto. That evening we boarded a train and upon arriving were greeted by Shohei, the emperor of Osaka.

Shohei studies Danish at Osaka University and was gracious enough to let Leah and I crash on his couch. CouchSurfing is the latest in budget travelling. In fact, it allows travellers to contact each other and offer their couch to sleep on while they aren't travelling: cheap and safe. But here comes the delicious part. Shohei works at a noodle restaurant, a very authentic one where they do things like drop raw eggs in the noodles right before serving them and don't speak a lick of English: delicious!!

The next day we got out of couch very early to hit the famous Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum. From the brochure: "On August 25, 1958, Momofuku Ando invented the world's first instant noodle product, "Chicken Ramen" after hours of research using common tools in a small shack which he had constructed in the backyard of his house in Ikeda. "The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum" conveys the importance of invention and discovery through the history of instant noodles, which have become a new food culture." Yes, indeed.

This exciting day was topped off with more than several visits to Osaka's famous Izekiah (think TGI Fridays) after which we once again landed in a Karaoke bar. I'll really miss those. Lungs, ears, everything hurts when you're walking out and the suns about to come up. The next day it was time to say goodbye to Leah, Shohei, and, yes, Japan. I'm sad, but excited to get to China. Sayonara.

More Kyoto

Sorry for the delays. I'm fine. It's been rough finding computers over here that are flickr/blogspot/gmail-compatible. I was even working with dial-up the other day. Here are some more pictures from the rest of my Kyoto exploits.
The Gold Pavillion.

This is me in my Ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel room). I think the check-in counter was confused when I made the mistake and booked a room that was actually meant for a whole family. Luckily the cockroaches kept me company. YIKES!

At one point during the tea ceremony, oh, what was it. Oh yea, I took the wisp and set it in the 2 o'clock position instead of 10. Big mistake. Madam Kimono was not impressed.

Own personal Buddha. I stumbled into this mausoleum and discovered rooms full of personal shrines. I managed to open a few and found incense, figurines and even money. They are catalogued at the front desk and ashes of family members can be stored below. Rather interesting.

Shinto vs. Buddha

One thing that surprised me throughout Japan is how strongly it`s culture, architecture and religious activities are influenced by Buddhism. I always thought of Japan as a Shinto nation with a Buddhist minority. Actually, most Japanese practice both religions. Shinto ceremonies are usually designated for earthly events, i.e. births, marriages, and so on, and Buddhism dominates the ponderings of the afterlife. Given the nature of most religions, this lends to a dominant presence of Buddhist structures and practices. Incidentally, I was beginning to think that I hadn`t actually been to any Shinto shrines at all, until I asked someone and they told me that the best way to recognize a Shinto shrine is a) Buddha`s absence (wa wa wa wohuwoh) and b) the Torii`s that are used as entrances.

Ok, think back to the movie, you know when the Geisha in waiting, the one being pursued by the questionably older man (I think in Geisha-speak they are called sponsors or something) through those orange arches? Those are Torii. Amazing structures, ranging in size and grandeur. And for all I know, they might even be native to Japan. Here are some pics from my two favorites, one on Miyjima island and many in Iranu (from the movie). Enjoy.

This is hilarious.

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Originally uploaded by ethan.arrow

Somehow today I snuck into a dress rehearsal for a fashion show and these girls had gone wild.

Memoirs of an American Tourist Harrasing Geisha

I`ve been in Kyoto now for three days. Although I`d like to step out of the role of typical tourist, I pretty much fit the bill in admitting that Kyoto is my favorite city. Lonely Planet describes it as, "the Japan you`ve always dreamed of." I`m not sure how much I`ve dreamt of Japan in my 25 years, but this is nothing short of dreamy.

So about these Geisha. All the tourists, hostel dwellers, and basically anyone not Japanese are obsessed with finding Geisha, taking their pictures and blogging about it. Hmm. Most of the people I`ve met have failed, going back to their respective countries as Geisha-spotting failures. I on the other hand, can`t get away from them. There are said to be 40 in all of Kyoto, and just short of 100 left in all of Japan. I`ve seen about 20 of them. I`m not kidding. The other night, around 11 PM I was walking back to my hostel and literally almost bumped into one in a narrow street I was taking as a short cut.

They don`t really acknowledge the tourists, which I can understand. The way people try to get their picture taken with them is borderline cruelty (whoops, I did that, too). Perhaps once all the movie hype dies down they can go back to their pretty little lives here in the narrow, wooden streets of Kyoto. Until then, where`s my Panasonic Lumix 10x Optical Zoom Leica Lens packin` nothing short of 10 megapixels of pure sweetness?

Sumo-logy

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Originally uploaded by ethan.arrow

Leaving Beppu I missed my ferry to a small island to the East so I weighed my options. It was late evening, most hostels were already booked, reaching the island by morning was no longer a possibility, so, I decided to take a night train clear across Japan to arrive in Tokyo by 7 AM to make it in line for Sumo tickets by 8 AM, which I did, and yes, I was the 3rd person in line. Sumo season is only in September, so thanks to chance and an unlimited rail pass, I was watching fat fly by mid afternoon. Below are only some of the literally thousands of highlights. Sumo, by the way, is a 9 hour event.

Beppuuuuuuuu, Beppuuuuuuu

Stepping off the train station in Beppu, travellers are greeted with a very loud, very high pitched Beppuuuuuuuu, Beppuuuuuuu, which you can hear on the other side of the station even when departing Beppu. Here I spent, by far, my two most relaxing days in Japan thus far. Visiting more natural springs looking over mountain cliffs, floating in geothermal-heated mud that's been around since primordia, and catching up with the latest news out of Christchurch, London, Brugue and Utrecht were among some of the highlights.

Yo Shin! Just stopping through on his bike tour of Kyushu.

As if the sulfuric acid constantly streaming from the earth isn't enough, they go and boil eggs on it.



Signs help visitors distinguish between the common and exotic.