Travel

Yokohama

October 5, 2024January 23, 2015 by Robert Haddan

Yokohama was high on my list of places I wanted to visit while in Japan. I really knew nothing about it and the desire was probably due to it being home to the Yokohama Baystars baseball team, Japan’s equivalent to the Chicago Cubs (think “lovable losers”).

Last weekend, we popped down to Yokohama for the day. Located a short train ride south of Tokyo, it’s actually the most populated municipality in Japan and second most populated city after Tokyo. Due to its development as a port town in the 1800s, Yokohama is a melting pot of Pacific cultures.

Our first stop was the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, billed as the world’s first food-themed amusement park. On the two lower levels, a 1950s-era Japanese street scene has been replicated in authentic detail with signage, music and a variety of ramen shops. A less-era-authentic magician performed tricks for the large crowd while blasting modern electronic music from his iPhone.

The wait times for each shop are on a chalkboard by the main stairs. We arrived around noon and already some of the shops had 30 minute waits. Waiting that long for ramen in Japan seems a little silly since there are literally 20,000 shops in Tokyo with no wait, but it’s a little like waiting in line at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland. The wait is part of the experience.

We picked NARUMI-IPPUDO, a French bouillon/Japanese dashi hybrid for our first course. The mini-sized bowls with medium-sized noodles and light broth were the perfect appetizer. In response to the variety of tourists who come through the museum’s doors, most of the shops offer at least one vegetarian bowl and one halal option for the increasing number of Muslim visitors. Guilt-free ramen is the best ramen of all!

Spicy Miso Ramen — The delicious spicy miso ramen at Ryu Shanghai

Lunch #2 involved one of the aforementioned 30 minute waits. Ryu Shanghai offered a unique spicy ramen with thick noodles in a rich, flavorful soup. The added dollop of the spicy miso sauce on top was enough to open up the sinuses on a cold day.

Kamome Shokudo was one shop caught my attention in the brochure. The original shop washed away in the 2011 earthquake and tsumani that decimated northeastern Japan. The shop has been replicated in the museum, giving their Sendai-style ramen a second life.

Puroresu — A 1950s-era television broadcasts old puro resu (professional wrestling) matches

Era-correct props dotted the museum’s basement floors. A payphone booth was made even more authentic by the black electrical tape holding the cord to the handset. An old black and white television console showed 1950s professional wrestling matches (side note: the sport’s popularity in the 1950s used to draw large crowds to watch the matches on big screens in Tokyo). A stained vending machine rolled out small glass bottles of Coca Cola. Plenty to see while waiting in those long ramen lines.

Yokohama Bayfront — Yokohama Landmark Tower; Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel; Yokohama Bay Bridge.

Next, we headed south toward Tokyo Bay. Every once in awhile, we get those “doesn’t feel like Japan” moments. The area around Tokyo Bay certainly qualified as one of those times. The massive Landmark Tower, Japan’s second largest building, anchors the skyline and casts a large shadow over the Nippon Maru, a clipper-style boat-turned-museum that was used as a training vessel for the Japanese Merchant Marines from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Looking toward the bay, you can’t miss the Cosmo Clock 21, the centerpiece of the Minato Mirai 21 (MM21) shopping center. Built in 1989, it was the world’s tallest ferris wheel for nearly a decade and, thanks to the digital clock on its face, it still stands as the world’s largest timepiece.

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse — The Red Brick Warehouse served as a customs building in the early 20th century, but now hosts shops, restaurants and cultural facilities

From MM21, we followed Kishamichi Promenade along the bayfront. It felt more like the Cairns Esplanade in Australia than anything we’ve seen in Japan. A running event was taking place on the day we visited, so we shuffled alongside those athletes braving the cold weather along the bayfront, ending up at the Red Brick Warehouse. The event overtook the grounds of the former customs warehouse, which was restored in the early 1990s and is now (of course) a retail center.

Yokohama Chinatown — The gates to Yokohama’s Chinatown district

From there, we ventured inland toward Yokohama’s thriving Chinatown district. Thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived at the port in the 1800s, bringing with them food (including ramen) and customs that still thrive in Japan today. More than 250 shops are fit into several city blocks, making it one of the world’s largest “Chinatown” districts.

Two ornate and impressive temples appear between the pork bun shops in Chinatown. Guan Di Miao was founded in the 1860s by immigrants as a central spiritual site as well as a tribute to Guan Gong, a well-respected general during the Han Dynasty in around 220 B.C.

The Mazu Miao temple is the newest temple in Chinatown

The second temple rivals all of the great structures we’ve seen in Japan, yet was built less than a decade ago, officially opening in March 2006. The city had planned on building a large apartment complex on the site, but the community was concerned about the impact such a building would have on the area. They negotiated with the developers and eventually purchased the land, building Mazu Miao in its place.

Less than two hours by train, Yokohama deserves another day trip in the near future. Would love to hear from anyone who’s visited about what we missed the first time around.

Cascadian Abroad :45—Yokohama

Coming of Age

January 19, 2015 by Viktoria Haddan

Working with young people, I have a chance to hear about some of the “exciting” first rites of passage into adulthood. Students getting their driver’s licenses or first jobs. First forays into drinking, smoking, sex. Forming opinions. Rebellion. Normal teen stuff.

Each culture has its own definitions of the not-so-fine line between childhood and adulthood. But, in the U.S., there’s no official ceremony surrounding it. The closest thing we have is perhaps a “Sweet Sixteen” or the 18th birthday. Latino cultures have the “Quinceañera” for young women at 15 years of age. In Japan, there is a public holiday on the second Monday of January, which is deemed “Coming of Age Day” (Seijin no hi).

In Japan, the legal age of adulthood is 20—for voting, drinking and smoking. For about a year, I’ve been hearing about the preparations for this day from some of our sophomore students at the university. And finally, it was here. My Facebook feed was suddenly flooded with loads of young women in beautiful kimonos and ornate hairstyles.

Japan really is a curious mix of the old and the new. To see young women transformed from their jeans and t-shirts to feminine visions from a past era was fascinating.

I asked a few students to share the significance of this day. Maybe it’s similar to asking an 18-year-old in the states why all of a sudden they can now vote, join the military or get a tattoo. “It’s a tradition,” they say. “We’re now considered adults based on our age.”

The Coming of Age ceremony usually takes place the weekend before or around the official public holiday. Young people who turned 20 after April 2 of the previous year or 19-year-olds who will turn 20 before April 1 of the current year take part in the ceremony. Students traveled across Japan to go home for this occasion.

Akie presents a close up of her ornate hair and ‘furisode’ kimono.

Women usually go to a shop about a year in advance to be fitted for their “furisode” kimono with all of its intricacies. It’s similar to how women choose a wedding gown. It’s a chance to put your stamp of creativity and stand out in the sea of beauties. The family plays a large role and it’s not a cheap endeavor with kimonos costing in the thousands of dollars (many borrow or rent). Young women wake up early—about 6 a.m.—and go to a special salon that does hair and makeup. There is also someone who helps with fitting the furisode.

At around noon, students join their former junior high school classmates in a public hall for the ceremony. From what I understand, there are many speeches and formalities. Most of the men wear suits and a few wear the men’s version of the kimono, which is called a hakama.

I taught Masaaki when he studied abroad in Oregon (he has now returned to Japan). His appearance stood out to me as he was one of the few who chose to rent a hakama for this day. He said three people had to help him dress in the kimono. “After I wore the kimono, I ate special lunch with my relatives gathered,” Masaaki said.

And after the ceremony? Students have a reunion with their classmates. And, then the parties! And rowdiness! “I had second and third parties. I enjoyed until next morning ‘cause we were legally able to drink alcohol!” Masaaki said.

Shuta is a student at the university. He just turned 20 in October and he traveled two hours by plane to get to his hometown of Isahaya in Nagasaki Prefecture. He wore a suit for his ceremony and he said he didn’t have enough time to rent a kimono. In October, when some of the other students surprised him for his birthday in our class, he said a few words about the significance of 20 and how he must be a man now and take schoolwork and his future seriously.

But when I ask some of my students if they feel like an adult now that they have gone through the ceremony, most of them say not really. Are they ready to vote and form opinions and explore all of the fun and not-so-fun rites of adulthood? Maybe not. And that’s OK. There’s no hurry to grow up.

Sunday Surprise

January 13, 2015 by Robert Haddan

A mysterious sign appeared in our neighborhood trash collection area around New Year. In addition to being the receptacle for our weekly waste, the concrete bunker also serves as the neighborhood bulletin board. Usually the messages are related to trash pickup, but I could read enough of this sign that I knew it wasn’t about garbage.

South American Music Concert Sign — This mysterious sign appeared in our trash bunker…

I snapped a photo and, after a few minutes with Google Translate, I discovered the local community center was hosting a South American music performance. I slapped it on our calendar and we made plans to attend.

On the day of the performance, we climbed to the second floor of the community center, greeted by a row of shoes placed on newspaper. A basket of slippers sat nearby and we dutifully replaced our shoes with the public slippers. Many brought their own slippers, so we’ll know for next time.

The band was made up of nine very skilled Japanese musicians. A couple of them played the zampoña (pan flute), two others played the charango (lute) and an energetic drummer pounded away on the bombo legüero, all the while urging the crowd to clap along. They reminded us of a less-authentic—yet equally talented—version of an Ecuadorian group we sought out at the Oregon State Fair every summer.

We were handed a couple sheets of paper when we came in. One was a schedule and the other a lyric sheet. Over the course of an hour, the audience was encouraged to sing along with about half of the songs. I couldn’t read fast enough to sing along, but I was surprised at how well I was able to follow along while our fellow listeners harmonized with the band.

After the show, people shuffled into a room across the hall for snacks. We tried to slip out quietly, but were stopped by one of the organizers who spoke just enough English to get his point across—it’s very important that you stay and celebrate. OK… shoes off, slippers back on.

Snack time — Our neighbors gather around the great feast celebrating the new year

We were glad we did. We told the man our address and he attempted to find our neighborhood table. In the end, I think we were just added to a table with some empty space as we didn’t recognize anyone at the table. Immediately, our new neighbors poured us green tea and began asking questions. One man spoke excellent English while another couple had a daughter living in the U.S. and learned a little bit of English each day on the internet.

Each table had the same spread: pizza from the recently-opened Domino’s, assorted hosomaki (thin sushi rolls), sandwiches, fruit and desserts. We waited and watched how they handled the food (some ate the pizza with their hands, others with chopsticks!) and followed suit (pizza with hands… our chopstick skills are good, but this was some next level stuff!).

At the end of the meal, the best English speaker asked if we wanted some New Year dessert soup. Oshiruko is a cold, sweet bean soup often served with mochi cakes. Ours came with small, multicolored, flower-shaped cakes that resembled the marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal.

After lunch, a man named Naka, who participated in the local English Club, came over to talk with us. Shortly after, he brought over another member—Kuni—who works as an investment banker and spent five years in the 1980s working in the World Trade Center in New York City. They asked the usual questions (where are you from, why are you here, etc.) and we talked about how difficult it is to learn each other’s languages.

While we talked, the organizers passed out rubber bands to everyone in the room. We were about to play the biggest game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (janken/じゃんけん) that I’ve ever participated in.

We paired off and began to battle. In the one-and-done format, if you win, you get the other person’s rubber band and move on to the next opponent. I beat Kuni in the first match, but then lost to a man from the next table who slow-rolled my scissors (choki/ちょき) with his rock (guu/ぐう).

A lady from our table made it all the way to the final group. Although she didn’t win it all, she did return with some sort of coffee-related prize.

We helped cleanup the table as best as possible. As we picked up, each of the ladies nearby placed a handful of the leftover Lindt truffles in front of us. We must have taken six or so with us.

We walked home and I couldn’t help but shake my head. It seems like every time we venture out into our neighborhood, something special happens. We’re still a bit of a spectacle, but people accept us into their communities so readily that the novelty wears off quickly and, before long, we’re just another neighbor.

New Year: Daruma Festival and Koma Shrine

October 6, 2024January 8, 2015 by Robert Haddan

The first week of the New Year is all about starting anew. There’s something about the changing of the calendar that invites retrospection of the year gone by and the setting of goals for the coming year.

Most of Japan is closed during the days surrounding New Year’s Day, giving people the opportunity to focus on starting the year right. In Kawagoe, that means heading out to Kita-in Temple’s Daruma Festival, held annually on January 3.

Daruma are round-ish dolls with bushy-featured faces and are believed to have inspired Russia’s iconic matryoshka dolls. Daruma dolls are about goal-setting for the coming year. They come in a variety of sizes and colors, each with a different meaning. They’re slightly weighted in the bottom so, if they’re tipped, they’ll always remain in an upright position like a Weeble. The feature is a metaphor for resiliency as Daruma are often associated with the phrase “nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き),” meaning “fall seven times and stand up eight.”

The Daruma’s eyes are both blank. Once you’ve decided on your goal for the year, you color in one of the eyes. If you accomplish your goal, you color in the other eye. If you don’t achieve your goal, well… I guess you have a Popeye Daruma.

2014's Charms — Kabura-ya and Daruma from 2014 pile up at Kita-in, waiting to be burned

At the beginning of the New Year, people bring last year’s Daruma and other charms (decorative arrows called kabura-ya (鏑矢) are another common New Year charm) back to the temple or shrine to be ceremonially burned. Mountains of 2014 charms piled near Kita-in’s main temple.

Daruma For Sale — One of many vendors selling Daruma for the New Year

Vendors lined the paths of the temple grounds with new Daruma and charms for sale. If you want general good fortune, buy a red one. Want to focus on love and happiness? Get a white one. Even corporations get in the act, buying larger Daruma equal to the audacity of the goal.

It wouldn’t be a Japanese festival without Japanese festival food and the Daruma Festival had plenty. Hockey puck-shaped pancakes filled with cream or sweet bean, called imagawayaki (今川焼き), are a popular sweet treat. Hot, steamed potatoes with butter, mayonnaise and kimchi are another mainstay at the local festivals. We managed to catch the okonomiyaki guy just before he sprinkled on the fish flakes, making for a filling lunch.

Kawagoe Hachimangu Mural — The new mural celebrating the Year of the Sheep at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine

Walking through town, many of the shrines were still packed with visitors paying their first respects of the year. One of our favorite little shrines, Kawagoe Hachimangu, featured a brand-new mural celebrating the year of the sheep.

Koma Jinja — Hanging out with Akinari at Koma Shrine in Hidaka

A couple days later, we visited Koma Shrine in nearby Hidaka. One of Viktoria’s students, Akinari, is a local and volunteers at the shrine during the holidays. He had ample opportunity to practice his English with us as we peppered him with questions about the traditions and meanings of different things.

Prayer at Koma Shrine — Waiting to approach Koma Shrine for prayers

He patiently walked us through the ceremonial hand washing process (temizu/手水) before paying respect at the shrine (toss a coin in the bin in front of the shrine, bow twice, clap twice, make your prayer then bow once).

We bought our fortunes (omikuji/おみくじ) for the year, which Koma Shrine kindly offered in English and Korean in addition to Japanese. Mine was only “Slightly Lucky,” so I tied it to the tree branch with all the others in hopes that the slight luck would attach to the tree instead of me.

Akinari’s job at the shrine is selling omamori (御守), charms that provide blessings and luck for the holder. Viktoria and Akinari each bought a ryokō anzen omamori (旅行安全御守) or a travel safety amulet to protect us on our various adventures abroad in 2015.

The search for the world’s greatest Imagawayaki continues at Koma Shrine

Akinari also gave us the low-down on some of the festival foods that we always wondered about. Hidaka’s past is intertwined with Japan’s complicated relationship with Korea and, as a result, has a lot of Korean influences. He explained toppoki (tteokbokki in Korean), which is mochi, tofu and eggs in a spicy sauce. We’d seen it before, but the mochi look like little sausages, so we always avoided it. It was delicious! We also continued our search for the best imagawayaki. This one may be the leader in the clubhouse!

Afterwards, he took us to nearby Kinchakuda-Manjushage Park, close to one of our favorite restaurants (Alishan Cafe). The park is famous for its red spider lilies, which bloom by the millions in the fall, flooding the rice field in a sea of red. Goats and horses at a farm opposite the park were apt as we closed out the Year of the Horse and rang in the Year of the Sheep (goats… sheep… close enough!).

Getting the local experience was really valuable and we couldn’t be more appreciative of Akinari giving up a Sunday night to show us around. It’s a great memory of our first New Year in Japan.

Japanese New Year Traditions

October 6, 2024January 1, 2015 by Viktoria Haddan

Robert and I love traditions. And we go all out. Instead of focusing on Christmas activities this year, we set our sights on Japanese New Year traditions. We were in luck because Japan is steeped in traditions and we were on a mission to try them all. Here is our journey into 2015, Year of the Sheep!

Decorations

Sometime in early December, we started noticing that our local grocery stores started to put up these odd displays. What do round plastic disks, mandarin oranges, bamboo, straw, rope and pine branches have in common? They are parts of a shrine or decoration that is put out in the home to honor the gods. First, the “kagami-mochi” is two round rice cakes, usually with a real or plastic mandarin orange on top. This is part of a shrine placed inside the home. I asked a student if you’re supposed to eat these rice cakes and I guess the answer is no!

Next, “kadomatsu” is made of three, large bamboo sticks and pine branches and are put in the front of the house. These are to house the spirit until January 7; after which they are burned to release the spirit. Last, the “shimekazari” is a straw and rope decoration that is hung on the door to protect from evil spirits.

We did not put up any of these in our home, but it was fun to walk around our neighborhood and notice the varying ways our neighbors practiced this tradition.

Postcards

We also started noticing that while there were some Christmas card displays, they were largely outnumbered by stacks of postcards with 2015 and its Chinese zodiac sign, the sheep. “Nengajo” are cards you send to loved ones wishing them Happy New Year. We decided to send a handful to relatives and those who sent us a Christmas card. The Japanese Post works overtime to ensure that the cards are delivered on January 1.

Nengajo — Clockwise from upper-left: Our nengajo; tempura and sushi stamps; a selection of nengajo at the local store; our local mailman hard at work

The postcards have lottery numbers on them. The winners are announced in mid-January and include prizes like washers, dryers and TV sets. Maybe a Cascadian Abroad reader will be a winner?

New Year’s Eve Variety Show

New Year’s Eve (NYE) is called “omisoka,” which means the last day of the month. We started our NYE by watching a famous talent show, “Kōhaku Uta Gassen,” on a public broadcasting channel called NHK. It’s a great honor for entertainers to be invited to perform on this show. It’s similar to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, or whatever the current iteration is.

I thought the show was really entertaining. It’s a Who’s Who of Japanese actors and musicians. We spotted our favorite soap opera (the show is called “Massan”) actor, who happens to be an American. We saw some mascots like Funassyi and Jinbanyan (orange and white cat). We tried to avoid getting the Japanese version of “Let It Go” stuck in our head.

Soba Noodles

After watching a little TV, we headed out to Kawagoe in search of a meal. “Toshikoshi soba” is a traditional meal eaten around midnight to ward off evil spirits before the New Year. We found a lovely restaurant that made its own buckwheat noodles near the shrine we were planning to visit. I’ve heard that sometimes the soba is one long noodle and sometimes it is in smaller pieces. We were given a little pot filled with the water the soba was cooked in to drink at the end of the meal. And hot tea and sake to warm up. Delicious! Oiishi!

First Temple Visit

“Hatsumode” is the year’s first visit to the shrine/temple. We thought about going to Tokyo, which has many large, famous shrines and temples. But with Tokyo NYE crowds projected in the millions, we thought it would be better to see what locals were up to!

We walked to two local shrines, Naritasan Kawagoebetsuin and Kita-in, alternating our time between both. We stood in line at the former to ring the bell at midnight. The latter was bigger and had many festival food and vendors of good luck charms and “Daruma” dolls.

After midnight, the crowds started to multiply and line up to say the first prayer of the year.

Ringing the Bell

“Joya no Kane” are purification bells. If one listens to or rings the bell 108 times, evil desires may be destroyed. It can’t hurt, right? Shortly, before midnight we climbed the bell tower and each rung the bell. It was definitely one of my favorite experiences in Japan so far. We were the only white people and, while I was nervous that we would be thrown out as nonbelievers, no one seemed perturbed by us participating in their religious traditions.

Before midnight, we heard a group count down “shi, san, ni, ichi” (four, three, two, one) and a few “Happy New Year” exclamations in English. The main temple bells started to ring. It was a subdued, but happy reaction.

We ran into friends at another temple later in the morning and rang the bell again with them. Doubling the purification of our evil thoughts, perhaps?

Money Envelopes

It’s a custom to give children money as a present for the New Year, called “otoshidama.” Similar to the Chinese custom you may have heard of, children are given money in a small envelope that can be red or decorated with designs appealing to children.

I asked some of my college-aged students whether they would still receive money and the answer was a resounding, YES! As long as a “child” is enrolled in college, they still receive money from parents and relatives. Popular amounts for children range from about $10 to $50 and for teenagers, upwards to $100.

We have a handful of small children living in our apartment complex so we decided to give “otoshidama” a try. No harm in fostering good will with neighbors, right? We presented the children with their envelopes (our name is written on the back so they know who it is from). I think our neighbors were shocked and embarrassed, which is a normal reaction to anything we do.

Lucky Grab Bags

Otoshidama money can be saved for serious ventures or spent in stores promising New Year’s deals and grab bags called “fukubukuro.” Shopping is a popular Japanese hobby so we weren’t surprised by this tradition. And anything to jump start the economy, right? We decided to “grab” this bag in our local bakery filled with a cute blanket, a huge loaf of bread and some sweet breads. It was about $9.

Mochi Rice Cakes

“Zōni” is a traditional soup eaten for the New Year that has blocks of “mochi” rice cakes floating in it. We purchased a huge bag of mochi, which are small square blocks of rice flour. They are as hard as a brick and look like soap. We noticed long ago that our toaster oven has a mochi setting so in they went. You wouldn’t think so, but after a few minutes, they emerge as melty, chewy little cakes. They can also be cooked over a grill.

These rice cakes are so popular in the New Year festivities that sometimes people choke on them. Every year, a warning is issued, especially to the elderly. Chew your mochi carefully, y’all. There’s nothing really to compare mochi to in the states. It’s like a gooey, melty block of carbs. Yum!

Oh, how fun. Thanks for a great New Year, Japan.

Cascadian Abroad :45—Omisoka

Watch the video below for footage from the NHK New Year’s special and the ringing of the bells at Naritasan Kawagoebetsuin.

“Isn’t Japan Expensive?”

December 17, 2014 by Robert Haddan

A few weeks back, I asked for your burning questions to be answered in future posts. Here’s a question from Cascadian Deni:

We’re really enjoying your blog. You asked for questions a few postings ago. Here’s mine: We understand that Japan is very expensive vis-a-vis food. lodging, etc. Are you finding it so?

We’d heard the same thing before coming to Japan. After nearly nine months on the ground, my answer is “It depends.”

Food

Standard grocery items are similar in price. Here’s prices from last week in Tillamook, OR (thanks Mom!) for some staple items compared with current prices in Kawagoe (converted to USD and comparable measurements).

Item	U.S.	Japan
Eggs	$2.19/12 pk	$1.75/10 pk
Bread (premium)	$2.19/18 slices	$1.92/8 slices
Bread (store)	$1.67/20 slices	$0.82/8 slices
Milk	$0.99/pint (473 ml)	$0.88/500 ml
Apples	$0.88/lb	$0.95/lb
Bananas	$0.79/lb	$1.60/lb
Red bell pepper	$1.79/ea	$1.08/ea
Potatoes	$0.59/lb	$0.64/lb
Yogurt	$0.59/cup	$0.71/cup

*Prices compared on 12/12/2014 (exchange rate $1 = ¥119.03)

Pretty comparable. One thing that’s a little unique is that many items are sold in packs. For example, you can’t buy a single banana in our local grocery stores. They’re pre-wrapped at a standard weight (usually four or five to a pack). Because apples are in season, we can currently buy them individually, but they’re still priced per apple, not by weight.

Buying bread is probably the trickiest thing. The loaves are packaged in five, six or eight slices with different thicknesses. The most common is called shokupan—a soft, white, chewy milk bread. The thicker slices are kind of like “Texas Toast” while the thin slices are more like Wonder Bread. As with most things, the preference for slice thickness differs by region. We occasionally find whole-wheat bread but usually buy sesame bread (goma no pan/胡麻のパン) or brown rice bread (genmai pan/玄米パン) from the local bakery.

There are some exceptions on both sides. Some fruit—especially melons—is much more expensive in Japan. During the past summer, a whole cantaloupe cost around 1,000 yen ($8.42 USD). One with Hello Kitty’s face carved in the rind went for 5,000 yen (about $42).

Eating out seems to be similar to the U.S…. some places are more expensive than others. When we eat out in Tokyo, we’re usually picking cafe-style vegetarian restaurants where we pay about 1,000 yen for an entree. Japanese fast-food restaurants offer the lunch crowds big bowls of udon or soba for under 500 yen ($4.21 USD). In my opinion, Tokyo is no more expensive than any other large city in the world when it comes to dining out. In fact, I thought prices in Melbourne and Sydney were far higher than anything we’ve experienced in Tokyo.

The one area I’ll concede is more expensive on average is Tokyo’s craft beer bars. It’s common to pay 900-1200 yen ($7.58-10.11) for a pint of craft beer. Even the big brewery beers are 500 yen for a large glass.

Shelter and Transportation

Living expenses are where “it depends” really comes into my answer. Our lifestyle in Japan is significantly different than it was in the U.S.

Our two-bedroom apartment in Japan is about 1,400 square feet smaller than our house in Oregon. Our rent is much less than our mortgage and it’s less expensive to heat. The garbage bill is covered by the rental company. However, we pay less for rent than I paid in Salem, OR in 2005 for a place roughly the same size.

Utilities are reasonable as well. Our fiber-based internet is fast and less than we paid for Comcast high-speed service. Electricity and gas is also less, which only seems fair with the difference in home size.

Japan also suffered a housing bubble burst in 2008-09 as the U.S., but the market in the metropolitan areas has rebounded in recent years. New construction in our area also seems to be booming. Since we arrived in March 2014, four very large homes have been built on our street. Watching them being built from the ground up, I’d guess they’re about 2,200 square feet, which probably puts them in the $300,000 price range.

As I mentioned before, our lifestyle here is significantly different than it was in the U.S., which makes comparing some things difficult. We chose not to have cell phones while in Japan, which average more than $100 a month in the U.S.

We used to commute 45 minutes each way and, even with our gas-friendly Toyota Prius, we were still paying $40 a week for gas. Viktoria commutes to work through the courtesy of her own two feet, so we’re not paying for gas, vehicle maintenance or insurance. We regularly use trains and local buses, which can be as much as 1,500 yen each if we’re gallivanting around Tokyo, but usually 1,000 yen will last a couple weeks for trips around Kawagoe.

We have three large grocery stores, a giant home goods store and a 100 yen shop (like a Dollar Store in the U.S., although with the current exchange rate, it’s more like the 84 Cent Store) within a few blocks of our apartment, so we’re not paying jacked-up prices as a result of shopping local.

Health

Fortunately, we haven’t had to exercise our Japanese national health care plan yet. Upon becoming residents in Japan, we received our national health care cards. I’d rather not have to write the experiential post about how the health care system works. I’ve heard second-hand stories about how it seems more inconvenient than U.S. health care (requiring doctor visits for every prescription refill, preventative dental care isn’t as common), but I can’t validate those myself.

In the U.S., we were both public employees and had access to affordable, quality health care through our employers. In the last couple years, we had to start making small monthly pre-tax contributions, but it was still far better than what most private-sector employees contribute.

Traveling in country can be expensive, but it all depends on your lodging and transportation choices. For example, we found an excellent deal (less than $100/night) at the Hilton overlooking Hakata Bay and Fukuoka Tower when we went to Fukuoka in June. We used Airbnb (affiliate link) to find apartments on our recent trip to Osaka and Kyoto. We loved Airbnb when we traveled at home and usually found it to be far more affordable, convenient and comfortable than staying in hotels.

Transportation is usually the most expensive part of any trip and that’s no different in Japan. We flew from Tokyo to Fukuoka (548 miles) for about the same price as a flight from Portland to San Francisco (536 miles). The Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka was about 300 miles and was more expensive than flying, but that’s without considering the cost of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to the airport and back again. In the end, it was probably still more expensive to take the train, but also much more comfortable.

“Isn’t Japan Expensive?”

In our experience, I’d say the answer is “For some things, yes, but generally it’s no worse than the U.S.” Our personal cost of living is much less in Japan than in the U.S. For tourists, I don’t think it’d be much worse than our experiences in San Francisco, Chicago or Washington D.C. as far as dining out or lodging goes.

Thanks to Deni for the great question!

Kyoto: Reaching Enlightenment

December 10, 2014 by Robert Haddan

We woke up early on our final day in Kyoto. The Lonely Planet guidebook suggested arriving at Ginkaku-ji as soon as it opened to avoid the crowds.

We hopped on the #100 bus at Kyoto Station, which I’d wished we’d taken on our first day as it was essentially a 230 yen tour bus. It carried us past the massive orange torii at Heian Shrine and five other must-see sights. It was also a subtle reminder that three days in Kyoto wasn’t nearly enough.

After rubbing shoulders with thousands of our closest friends over the previous couple days, arriving at Ginkaku-ji before the crowds was simply amazing. You could get the sense of what it would have been like to walk the grounds before it became a tourist attraction. With only a handful of people inside, our ears rang with silence and tranquility.

The temple, officially known as Jishō-ji, was built as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in the late 1400s. Ashikaga’s grandfather had commissioned the golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ji and Jishō-ji was intended to resemble that pavilion, including a silver-foil facade. However, the Ōnin War delayed construction and Ashikaga died before the silver foil could be applied. The common name Kinkaku-ji (“Temple of the Silver Pavilion”) became a popular nickname in the 1600s.

Fuji-san — A carefully-raked pile of sand in the Kinkaku-ji garden in the shape of Mt. Fuji

The stellar gardens are highlighted by two meticulously maintained sand sculptures. The first sits in front of the pavilion itself. The sand formed into a four-foot tall homage to the sacred Mt. Fuji.

Ginkaku-ji Sand Garden — The sand garden in front of the residence

Sitting on the veranda of the residence, you can gaze over the second sand garden with its sharp curves and lines. A maintenance man was straightening the sculptured sand before the crowds arrived with the precision of a surgeon.

The temple path leads up into the surrounding hills. From one overlook, you can see a Chinese parasol tree growing in the distance. In 2011, a seedling from a tree in Hiroshima that survived the atomic bomb during World War II was planted on the hillside.

From Kinkaku-ji, we headed down the Philosopher’s Path, a two-kilometer walk along a cherry tree-lined canal leading to Nanzen-ji temple. The path was named for Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro who would follow the path on his daily walk to Kyoto University. The surrounding neighborhood mixes residences with small cafes, giving it more of a European feel.

Sanmon at Nanzen-ji — The main gate (sanmon) at Nanzen-ji

We arrived at Nanzen-ji, our last stop before heading home. The massive sanmon (main gate) welcomes you into the surprisingly large grounds. The temple was established in the late 1200s and buildings seem to sprout from the surrounding trees.

Nanzen-ji Aquaduct — The aqueduct of Nanzen-ji

The most impressive of all of the temple’s structures was the long, arching aqueduct. It was built in the 1800s to provide water from Lake Biwa west to Kyoto. It looked out of place amongst the traditional eastern architecture, but the curves of the arches provided several foolproof photo opportunities.

With that, our unforgettable Kansai trip came to an end. We boarded the Shinkansen for Tokyo Station and returned to real life.

A Forest of Bamboo and A Temple of Gold

December 3, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Our second day in Kyoto took us to the northern part of the city. We started our day early with an easy train ride from Kyoto Station to the Arashiyama area in northwest Kyoto. A local curmudgeon greeted the tourists, standing on her porch and muttering with disdain at those who passed by, providing an early opportunity to find a moment of Zen.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest — The bamboo forest in Arashiyama near Tenryū-ji

While most visitors headed directly for Tenryū-ji (天龍寺), one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kyoto, we walked the path backward and started in the bamboo forest. Lofty stalks of bamboo bunched on either side of the path enclosed us in tranquility. The bright reds and oranges of the changing Japanese maple tree leaves broke through the glowing green of the bamboo.

We circled around and into the back entrance of Tenryū-ji, the head temple of the Tenryū branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The low rolling hills of Mt. Arashi frame the temple grounds. A large garden designed around Sōgen Pond is designated as one of Japan’s “Special Places of Scenic Beauty.” We sat for several minutes and just took in the peacefulness of the scene.

Lunch at Shigetsu, authentic Buddhist cuisine known as shōjin ryōri

It was already lunchtime and we wanted to make sure to try authentic shōjin ryōri before leaving Kyoto. Shōjin ryōri is traditional Buddhist vegetarian cuisine—and the leading cause of the myth that Japan is a vegetarian-friendly country. It’s typically found in or near temples and, due to the ornate construction of the meals, is fairly expensive.

Shigetsu is the shōjin ryōri restaurant at Tenryū-ji. We were led into a long room with tatami floors. People sat on the floor along the sides of the rooms. The meal itself is a sensory experience; disparate textures and temperatures create harmony with the sour and savory flavors. Plus, the food was delicious.

After lunch, we made our way back into the neighborhood around the temple. A tea shop was grinding its own matcha. Matcha is green tea that has been ground into a fine powder and is used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. She prepared a couple of sample cups. The result was a creamy green drink despite being made only with ground tea and water. We bought a small canister which I swear I’ll prepare this weekend. I swear it!

We headed back to the train station (the curmudgeon still cursing at the tourists) and set out for Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺), a Zen Buddhist temple and another of the UNESCO properties of Kyoto. It was a perfect sunny day and the gold leaf of the temple shined brightly.

We’d later find out that we were there on Culture Day, so the crowds were especially thick for a Monday. This was the first time the irony of the juxtaposition of tourism in a Zen temple really struck me. The crowd was funneled into an area across the pond to snap the perfect photo, wedging past one another to get an unobstructed shot. Kids ran and screamed like they were at Disneyland, not a 600-year-old cultural icon.

Gold Green Tea — Green tea with gold flake at Kinkaku-ji

Despite all this, it was still one of my favorite stops in Kyoto. That said, they kind of jumped the shark with the whole gold thing at Kinkaku-ji. A tea vendor handed out samples of green tea with gold flake floating in it. A nearby snack shack sold ice cream cones sprinkled with gold flake. All that was missing was a bright-yellow t-shirt that said “I went to Kinkaku-ji and all I got was this lousy gold t-shirt.”

Ryōan-ji gardens — A stone path leads into one of the many gardens of Ryōan-ji

We finished our day with a walk to Ryōan-ji, a Zen temple located west of Kinkaku-ji. The grounds have several beautiful gardens and fewer visitors created the most Zen-like feeling of the day.

Ryōan-ji Rock Garden — The rock garden of Ryōan-ji

However, Ryōan-ji is best known for its karesansui rock garden. It’s considered one of the finest examples of a dry landscape garden in the world. The sand is raked daily with painstaking precision by the temple’s monks. Seated on the veranda of the residence, you can only see 14 of the 15 rocks in the garden. It’s said that you will only be able to see all 15 stones through attaining enlightenment. Philosophers have long seeked the spiritual meaning of the garden while scientists are fascinated by the symmetry of the garden’s structure and its alignment with the main temple.

We’d have just another half-day in Kyoto before heading home. Stay tuned!

Kyoto: Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera

October 6, 2024November 25, 2014 by Robert Haddan

After two wonderful days in Osaka, we set out on the second-half of our Kansai adventure, bound for Kyoto. But first, coffee!

I only mention the coffee stop because it was the morning of November 3, yet the Starbucks at Temmabashi Station was already decked out for Christmas with an updated drink menu and American holiday music blaring through the speakers. But, as the saying goes: “When in Starbucks, do as the Starbuckians do.” We ordered the seasonal Snow Maple Toffee Latte, a take on a Canadian/New England treat called Maple Taffy (which the internet says is made by pouring boiling-hot maple sap over snow).

With a lethal dose of caffeine and sugar coursing through our veins, we boarded the Elegant Saloon 8000 express train to Kyoto. Other than the comfortable forward-facing seats, I didn’t notice anything particularly special about the train, but all along the 30-mile route, photographers with tripods and $10,000 lenses were set up, waiting to capture a photo of the train with the hills of central Japan in the backdrop. I snapped a horrible photo of the train once we arrived in Kyoto because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Changing Colors — The changing colors of the Japanese maple trees in Kyoto

So, right… Kyoto. An amazing, dynamic and diverse city, the former imperial capital of Japan boasts more than 2,000 temples and 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We intentionally scheduled our trip for early November to see the sights surrounded by the changing colors of autumn and we were not disappointed.

Fushimi Inari Taisha Torii — A few of the thousands of torii (shrine gates) lining the path to the inner shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha

We started our day at Fushimi Inari Taisha, the shrine dedicated to the kami (god) of rice (among other things). The shrine is famous for the thousands of torii (shrine gates) that lead to the inner shrine in the middle of Inari Mountain.

Inari is also the kami of industry, so in an offering to the god, Japanese businesses have donated each of the torii. Each gate is marked with the date it was placed and the name of the donating company. To the uninformed foreigner (us), you’d probably assume the words to be something spiritual. However, to the Japanese-literate, it’s an endless string of advertisements. Pretty cool advertisements though!

We spent a couple hours hiking up/down the trail to the middle of the mountain, where a view of the entire city opens up. We stopped for lunch, which of course included inari sushi (a fried-tofu pouch filled with sushi rice, named for the kami). We also had a bowl of kitsune soba. Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes play a significant role in Japanese folklore. They’re also said to be fond of aburage (fried tofu), hence the namesake dish.

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. One of the UNESCO sites, its current structures date back to the 1600s. The impressive main hall, with its large veranda designed to accommodate thousands of pilgrims at any given time, was built without a single nail.

I’m a big fan of the Buddhist temples and the smell of incense that fills the air. Despite the large crowds (turned out we were there over the Culture Day holiday weekend), there’s still plenty of opportunity to find a moment of Zen.

English Students — Two separate groups of students practiced their English on Viktoria. They were clearly unimpressed with me.

One (or two) such moments occurred when small groups of students descended on tourists to practice their English. They asked three pre-written questions with no follow-ups. The shrines and their large crowds must be popular for this homework as we experienced this in Asakusa back in May as well. The earnest students left a good feeling as we ventured into the temple.

Artist — An artist working on a sketch of Kiyomizu-dera’s main hall

From the veranda of the main hall, you can see a grand view of the city and, across the way, the temple’s lonely pagoda rises from the trees. A scenic walk leads to the pagoda. An older Japanese man sat near the trail, oblivious to the crowd around him as he made a beautiful color sketch of the iconic main hall.

Kiyomizu-dera Pagoda — The pagoda at Kiyomizu-dera

We reached the pagoda after a lovely walk, where I’ll admit to committing a cultural faux-pas. A very nice lady of Asian decent was snapping photos of her travel companions by the pagoda, so I asked her if she would take our photo as well.

Me: Shasin wo totte morae masu ka?
Her: I’m sorry, I don’t speak Japanese.

Shoot… As a person who is offended by the general clumping of cultures, I felt terrible, but she didn’t seem to mind. I’m guessing it’s one of those things that the other person doesn’t think twice about, while you beat yourself up over it for a couple days. The picture turned out lovely though!

Kyoto Tower rising from the edge of the city’s downtown area

We headed to our temporary Airbnb home near Kyoto Station. We’d need to rest up with two days and 2,000 temples to see.

Cascadian Abroad :45—Kyoto

Anatomy of a Selfie

November 18, 2014 by Robert Haddan

According to Wikipedia, the first usage of the word “selfie” to describe a photograph of oneself taken by oneself was in 2002 on an Australian internet forum. Not surprisingly, it was a photo from a drunken 21st birthday party.

Robert Cornelius Selfie — Robert Cornelius’ 1839 selfie. I assume he was drinking at a party when he took this.

However, the selfie has been around as long as the camera itself. In 1839, Robert Cornelius took both the first selfie as well as one of the first photographs of a person.

Our trusty Panasonic Lumix camera has been a trooper on our travels over the last few years. It’s predecessor, a Canon Powershot, met an untimely death in 2012 in the waves of the Pacific Ocean in Troncones, Mexico. All of our cameras have captured many a selfie: Eugene Saturday Market in 2006; Wrigley Field in 2010; Washington DC in 2011…

But these selfies aren’t just the perfect final shots we share on Facebook. There’s a lot of effort, planning and multiple takes to get that perfect shot. With our dignity set aside in the name of transparency and science (Science? Sure, why not…), I present “The Anatomy of a Selfie.”