I have excellent news, though mainly for myself: my season break is finally over! I hated being idle for the past three weeks, so I'm really happy that I can start my regular training again now.
My goal for this season is to finish the middle distance at the Cologne Triathlon Weekend next September, and I'll probably throw in an Olympic distance triathlon around the end of June (maybe 3MUC in Munich).
I'd been a little anxious about finding a pool and gym for swimming and weight training (roads for running and cycling are a little easier to find ;-)). But, as it turns out, no problem at all: a colleague introduced me to a really nice gym not far from my apartment where I can do both!
So on Monday we went there to sign me up. The joining process took rather long - about 30 to 40 minutes - because they wanted to know lots and lots of details, like my home address and phone, work address and phone, my yearly salary, who to contact in an emergency, whether I have tattoos or contagious illnesses, and much more.
But, at long last, it was done and I could explore the gym. As space in Japan is rather limited, the gym is spread out over several floors. The entrance area is located on the first floor (which is equivalent to the German ground floor). Several studios where they hold all kinds of classes are on the second floor (among the classes are yoga and aerobics, and a whole lot of other stuff, but the timetable is in Japanese... and anyway, I didn't join the gym to take classes). The fourth floor features the locker rooms, showers, whirlpools, sauna and swimming pool. It's only a 25m pool, but at least it seems that it's not very crowded in the evenings. Finally, the gym area with the usual amount of machines, free weights, benches, treadmills and bicycles is located on the fifth floor. Most of the signs in the gym are available in both Japanese and English, and the staff also speak a little English, so it was really no problem to find my way around.
I signed up for the night plan, meaning that I can use the gym between 8pm and 11pm on weekdays. Especially for the pool, these are the opening hours of my dreams! Very unlike those in back in Germany where the public pools closed at 8pm at the very latest.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Osaka Castle
Sunday was another gorgeous autumn day, so I decided I had to go sightseeing again. I was still a little tired from the long walk on Saturday, and not in the mood for a long train ride, so I chose to visit Osaka castle. The track says I walked nearly 5km again, but at least that's a lot better than 12, right?
The castle really looks great in sunlight, and there are several spots where the autumn trees are reflected in the moat's water, giving a very nice overall impression.
The castle museum, however, is not particularly impressive. The viewing platform on the top floor offers a great view over Osaka, but exhibit-wise, they only have a few beautifully painted folding screens, and not much more. Most of the museum's content consists of videos and written Japanese documents.
As with many old buildings in Japan, Osaka castle is only a reconstruction, or more precisely, the reconstruction of a reconstruction: the original castle was destroyed in a war about 30 years after it was built. The reconstruction that followed was destroyed again, and was replaced by a concrete structure in the 1930s.
From today's perspective, there are some uncertainties as to how exactly the original castle looked like. Apparently, there really isn't much left from it, apart from a painted folding screen, a stone wall below the reconstructed castle and a few roof tiles.
From a European/Western perspective, I think that is really weird. I have the feeling that in Europe, there are so many details known about (for example) the Romans, and there are so many artifacts remaining from that period. Somehow I find it hard to believe how so little can be left of a castle (and so little known about it) that was originally constructed only in the 1600s.
Another point that I find a little strange is the castle moat. One part of it is filled with water, while another part has always been dry. However, a sign near the castle entrance says that the reason for this is unknown. How can this be? If it was a design decision, then there should be some record of it, right? And if it's due to some kind of natural condition, then I think it should invoke scientific interest and be studied. How can they just accept to not know the reason for it, and not even make an educated guess? Or maybe the English sign is only a bad or old translation, and they really know everything about it...?
The castle really looks great in sunlight, and there are several spots where the autumn trees are reflected in the moat's water, giving a very nice overall impression.
The castle museum, however, is not particularly impressive. The viewing platform on the top floor offers a great view over Osaka, but exhibit-wise, they only have a few beautifully painted folding screens, and not much more. Most of the museum's content consists of videos and written Japanese documents.
As with many old buildings in Japan, Osaka castle is only a reconstruction, or more precisely, the reconstruction of a reconstruction: the original castle was destroyed in a war about 30 years after it was built. The reconstruction that followed was destroyed again, and was replaced by a concrete structure in the 1930s.
From today's perspective, there are some uncertainties as to how exactly the original castle looked like. Apparently, there really isn't much left from it, apart from a painted folding screen, a stone wall below the reconstructed castle and a few roof tiles.
From a European/Western perspective, I think that is really weird. I have the feeling that in Europe, there are so many details known about (for example) the Romans, and there are so many artifacts remaining from that period. Somehow I find it hard to believe how so little can be left of a castle (and so little known about it) that was originally constructed only in the 1600s.
Another point that I find a little strange is the castle moat. One part of it is filled with water, while another part has always been dry. However, a sign near the castle entrance says that the reason for this is unknown. How can this be? If it was a design decision, then there should be some record of it, right? And if it's due to some kind of natural condition, then I think it should invoke scientific interest and be studied. How can they just accept to not know the reason for it, and not even make an educated guess? Or maybe the English sign is only a bad or old translation, and they really know everything about it...?
Kyoto again
Another Saturday, another day of sightseeing in Kyoto. It was a warm and sunny autumn day, the perfect weather to visit some autumn foliage sites in Kyoto. Apparently, that was what everybody else was thinking, too, so the trains and most popular spots were PACKED.
The hard facts:
away), rinse, repeat.
1 - Tofuku-ji
Apparently, this temple is THE most popular autumn foliage spot in Kyoto. And, I have to admit, it did really look beautiful - just have a look at the pictures below. The crowds, however, were crazy. I had worried about finding the temple because it is a 10 minute walk from the train station - but there was a constant stream of people heading there, so no problem at all. The queue in front of the ticket counter was impressive, and inside it was like one big queue around all the best spots.
The green parts of the temple were pretty empty, so I could have a good look at the gate (see below), which is supposed to be the oldest temple gate in Japan. On my way back, I stopped at one of the good viewpoints to take some more pictures when somebody in a uniform approaches me, gestures wildly and shouts "No photo"! I left because I was done anyway, but still I was confused - everybody was taking pictures at that spot. WTF??
2 - Tenryu-ji
Back to the train station, and one trip through Kyoto later, I arrived at this Word Heritage Site which is famous for its Zen gardens. Thus, I only visited the garden and didn't go inside the temple.
In the gardens, I found out why Japanese gardens always look so neat and tidy: they employ tons of people who constantly clean up the waste that Nature tries to spoil the gardens with!
3 - Okochi Sanso
On the way to this villa, I pass through the famous Arashiyama bamboo grove. I like the atmosphere inside a bamboo grove. It's like being in a forest, but in a very light and elegant one.
The entrance fee to the villa included green tea and a small sweet, providing me with a very welcome five-minute break.
The villa's gardens were beautifully designed and not too crowded (a very welcome alternation on this day).
4 - Jojakko-ji
Another temple sporting gorgeous autumn colors and, being located on a hill on the outskirts, a nice view over Kyoto.
5 - Nison-in
This temple has a large graveyard on its grounds where some famous poet is supposed to be buried. It also featured crowds at the usual (autumn-colored) spots.
6 - Ryoan-ji
Finally, a short tram ride later, the last temple (and second World Heritage Site) for today. The most famous part is its garden featuring several rocks scattered over a neatly raked gravel bed. Apparently, the designer didn't bother to explain whether it has some kind of meaning or not. The temple also has a pond with beautifully colored trees at its shore.
The hard facts:
- visited 5 temples and 1 villa, of which 2 are UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- paid 1650 Yen transportation
- paid 3300 Yen admission fees
- tried to walk a little less today, but had only limited success (12.5 km, have a look at the track)
away), rinse, repeat.
1 - Tofuku-ji
Apparently, this temple is THE most popular autumn foliage spot in Kyoto. And, I have to admit, it did really look beautiful - just have a look at the pictures below. The crowds, however, were crazy. I had worried about finding the temple because it is a 10 minute walk from the train station - but there was a constant stream of people heading there, so no problem at all. The queue in front of the ticket counter was impressive, and inside it was like one big queue around all the best spots.
The green parts of the temple were pretty empty, so I could have a good look at the gate (see below), which is supposed to be the oldest temple gate in Japan. On my way back, I stopped at one of the good viewpoints to take some more pictures when somebody in a uniform approaches me, gestures wildly and shouts "No photo"! I left because I was done anyway, but still I was confused - everybody was taking pictures at that spot. WTF??
2 - Tenryu-ji
Back to the train station, and one trip through Kyoto later, I arrived at this Word Heritage Site which is famous for its Zen gardens. Thus, I only visited the garden and didn't go inside the temple.
In the gardens, I found out why Japanese gardens always look so neat and tidy: they employ tons of people who constantly clean up the waste that Nature tries to spoil the gardens with!
3 - Okochi Sanso
On the way to this villa, I pass through the famous Arashiyama bamboo grove. I like the atmosphere inside a bamboo grove. It's like being in a forest, but in a very light and elegant one.
The entrance fee to the villa included green tea and a small sweet, providing me with a very welcome five-minute break.
The villa's gardens were beautifully designed and not too crowded (a very welcome alternation on this day).
4 - Jojakko-ji
Another temple sporting gorgeous autumn colors and, being located on a hill on the outskirts, a nice view over Kyoto.
5 - Nison-in
This temple has a large graveyard on its grounds where some famous poet is supposed to be buried. It also featured crowds at the usual (autumn-colored) spots.
6 - Ryoan-ji
Finally, a short tram ride later, the last temple (and second World Heritage Site) for today. The most famous part is its garden featuring several rocks scattered over a neatly raked gravel bed. Apparently, the designer didn't bother to explain whether it has some kind of meaning or not. The temple also has a pond with beautifully colored trees at its shore.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Kyoto
On Saturday, it was time for my first sightseeing trip. Originally, I had planned to visit Himeji castle, but as I heard in the lab that it is undergoing renovations right now, I went to Kyoto instead.
The hard facts:
This was the first ever sightseeing trip where I recorded a GPS track - now I know for sure why sightseeing is so damn exhausting! You just walk and walk and the kilometers accumulate and at the end you have covered a distance that you wouldn't want to cover in your daily workout.
I took a local train from Osaka to Kyoto (because local trains are much cheaper than express trains, such as the Shinkansen, and it still only took about 45 minutes). The first thing I did when I arrived was to check the tourist information center in Kyoto station. It wasn't very useful because it was very much geared towards Japanese tourists (i.e. there was no information in English available at all). However, I found one poster which I thought was very funny. It contained a detailed list of sights and places in Kyoto, indicating for each the current status of the autumn foliage using green and red maple leafs. I took the trouble to look for one specific place that I had planned to go to because the travel guide said it was one of the most beautiful places to visit in autumn. I found it after much comparing of Japanese characters on the poster with the ones in my travel guide, but it only had two green maple leafs and no red ones. So I didn't go there - I'll probably check again the next weekend.
1 - Higashi Hongan-ji
After leaving the station, I walked a little north to visit my first temple, Higashi Hongan-ji. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed by this temple, although it apparently is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. A common trait of most temples in Japan seems to be that they were repeatedly destroyed by fires, and thus the current buildings are all reconstructions of the original ones - that's probably the main reason why there are so many "No Smoking" signs all over the temples. In the case of Higashi Hongan-ji, the latest reconstruction was done in 1895. To aid the reconstruction, followers of the temple donated hair to make ropes that were used to lift the wooden beams. One of these ropes is exhibited in a glass case inside the temple.
2 - Nishi Hongan-ji
On to the second temple, and the first World Heritage Site in my visit. This one is a little bigger than the one before, and more impressive.
There also seemed to be a wedding taking place in the temple, and I took pictures of the bride and groom being prepared for the group photo.
3 - Kiyomizu-dera
The third temple, and second World Heritage Site, is the biggest of the temples today, and very crowded. There are various temple halls and shrines on the extensive grounds, and the visitors are led in a fairly fixed course through all of it.
Apparently, rubbing all kinds of statues brings luck, or answers prayers, or something. That's the reason why the one in the picture below is so polished.
At one place, there is a waterfall where people queue to get a drink from its sacred waters. I took a couple of pictures of how two Japanese girls in traditional clothing did it.
4 - Kodai-ji
Starting at this temple, my memory starts to blur a little. Maybe it would be better to visit less temples in one day, and instead throw in a castle for good measure...
5 - Maruyama-koen
This is a park you pass on the way from Kodai-ji to Shoren-in. To be honest, I was already fairly tired at this point, so I didn't really explore the park. Maybe I'll come back in spring, as this park is allegedly one of the most popular spots for cherry blossom viewing.
6 - Shoren-in
After the park, I had planned to visit another temple, Chion-in. However, it was already closed (it was only 4pm - wtf?), so I went on to Shoren-in. This was actually quite nice because it wasn't very crowded and the walking tour in the temple and temple grounds was well laid-out. I'll have to explain this a little bit. In all temples, you have to remove your shoes before entering any building. Most temples provide plastic bags for you to carry your shoes with you until you leave the building again. So that's where I run out of hands because there's the travel guide in one hand, and I need the other to operate my camera. That's why I don't appreciate it when I also have to carry my shoes with me. In Shoren-in, however, they have a shoe-rack at the entrance where you can leave your shoes, then take the tour around the interconnected buildings, then return to the entrance, put on your shoes, and take the tour around the temple grounds. In addition, they have some very fine painted sliding doors from the 16th century, and I also found the general atmosphere to be very nice and tranquil. So that was a beautiful ending to my first day of sightseeing.
The hard facts:
- visited 5 temples and 1 park, of which 2 are UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- paid 1500 ¥ for admission fees
- paid 1420 ¥ for transportation
- walked more than 15 km (see the track, but there's a section missing right at the beginning where I forgot to switch on the GPS receiver. I started at the train station, then went to visit the temple directly north of the station, and only then went to the temple in the west where the track starts)
This was the first ever sightseeing trip where I recorded a GPS track - now I know for sure why sightseeing is so damn exhausting! You just walk and walk and the kilometers accumulate and at the end you have covered a distance that you wouldn't want to cover in your daily workout.
I took a local train from Osaka to Kyoto (because local trains are much cheaper than express trains, such as the Shinkansen, and it still only took about 45 minutes). The first thing I did when I arrived was to check the tourist information center in Kyoto station. It wasn't very useful because it was very much geared towards Japanese tourists (i.e. there was no information in English available at all). However, I found one poster which I thought was very funny. It contained a detailed list of sights and places in Kyoto, indicating for each the current status of the autumn foliage using green and red maple leafs. I took the trouble to look for one specific place that I had planned to go to because the travel guide said it was one of the most beautiful places to visit in autumn. I found it after much comparing of Japanese characters on the poster with the ones in my travel guide, but it only had two green maple leafs and no red ones. So I didn't go there - I'll probably check again the next weekend.
 |
| Poster showing the status of autumn foliage around Kyoto |
After leaving the station, I walked a little north to visit my first temple, Higashi Hongan-ji. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed by this temple, although it apparently is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. A common trait of most temples in Japan seems to be that they were repeatedly destroyed by fires, and thus the current buildings are all reconstructions of the original ones - that's probably the main reason why there are so many "No Smoking" signs all over the temples. In the case of Higashi Hongan-ji, the latest reconstruction was done in 1895. To aid the reconstruction, followers of the temple donated hair to make ropes that were used to lift the wooden beams. One of these ropes is exhibited in a glass case inside the temple.
2 - Nishi Hongan-ji
On to the second temple, and the first World Heritage Site in my visit. This one is a little bigger than the one before, and more impressive.
There also seemed to be a wedding taking place in the temple, and I took pictures of the bride and groom being prepared for the group photo.
3 - Kiyomizu-dera
The third temple, and second World Heritage Site, is the biggest of the temples today, and very crowded. There are various temple halls and shrines on the extensive grounds, and the visitors are led in a fairly fixed course through all of it.
Apparently, rubbing all kinds of statues brings luck, or answers prayers, or something. That's the reason why the one in the picture below is so polished.
At one place, there is a waterfall where people queue to get a drink from its sacred waters. I took a couple of pictures of how two Japanese girls in traditional clothing did it.
4 - Kodai-ji
Starting at this temple, my memory starts to blur a little. Maybe it would be better to visit less temples in one day, and instead throw in a castle for good measure...
5 - Maruyama-koen
This is a park you pass on the way from Kodai-ji to Shoren-in. To be honest, I was already fairly tired at this point, so I didn't really explore the park. Maybe I'll come back in spring, as this park is allegedly one of the most popular spots for cherry blossom viewing.
6 - Shoren-in
After the park, I had planned to visit another temple, Chion-in. However, it was already closed (it was only 4pm - wtf?), so I went on to Shoren-in. This was actually quite nice because it wasn't very crowded and the walking tour in the temple and temple grounds was well laid-out. I'll have to explain this a little bit. In all temples, you have to remove your shoes before entering any building. Most temples provide plastic bags for you to carry your shoes with you until you leave the building again. So that's where I run out of hands because there's the travel guide in one hand, and I need the other to operate my camera. That's why I don't appreciate it when I also have to carry my shoes with me. In Shoren-in, however, they have a shoe-rack at the entrance where you can leave your shoes, then take the tour around the interconnected buildings, then return to the entrance, put on your shoes, and take the tour around the temple grounds. In addition, they have some very fine painted sliding doors from the 16th century, and I also found the general atmosphere to be very nice and tranquil. So that was a beautiful ending to my first day of sightseeing.
Japan is a Cash Country
In Japan, cash still rules over plastic money - or at least over internationally issued credit cards. Most shops and restaurants do not accept foreign plastic money (I haven't really checked whether they accept Japanese cards, but I haven't seen anyone pay with a card so far). Ticket machines and other vending machines operate with cash only.
Even when it comes to ATMs, not all of them are created equal. Most ATMs do not accept international credit cards. Only those owned by two or three certain banks are connected to the international network. Luckily, the fairly common Japan Post ATMs belong in this category.
I'm even supposed to pay the rent for my apartment in cash. What a strange notion, to carry a wad of cash to the landlord every month.
So, I guess I should feel lucky that I received a part of the allowance for my scholarship in cash today. I believe I've never had such a large amount of cash with me. And without a bank account (I haven't opened one yet) to put it into - where am I going to keep it? Under my pillow?
Even when it comes to ATMs, not all of them are created equal. Most ATMs do not accept international credit cards. Only those owned by two or three certain banks are connected to the international network. Luckily, the fairly common Japan Post ATMs belong in this category.
I'm even supposed to pay the rent for my apartment in cash. What a strange notion, to carry a wad of cash to the landlord every month.
So, I guess I should feel lucky that I received a part of the allowance for my scholarship in cash today. I believe I've never had such a large amount of cash with me. And without a bank account (I haven't opened one yet) to put it into - where am I going to keep it? Under my pillow?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Light and Dark
Up until recently, I believed that the amount of daylight you get during winter in Osaka is nearly equal to that in Germany. Well, of course that cannot be true since Osaka lies a lot further south: Frankfurt, for example is at about 50°N, while Osaka is at 34°N.
So, I checked how much the difference actually is. Right now, it's about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and on the darkest day of the year (December 22nd) it will be as much as 1 hour and 45 minutes. You can have a look for yourself: here are the sunrise and sunset times for Frankfurt and Osaka.
Anybody who knows how much I hate the darkness in German winters will be able to appreciate just how happy I am to be here right now. And as for the summers (Germany has nearly two hours more daylight on the lightest day), I'll gladly come back to Germany then :-)
So, I checked how much the difference actually is. Right now, it's about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and on the darkest day of the year (December 22nd) it will be as much as 1 hour and 45 minutes. You can have a look for yourself: here are the sunrise and sunset times for Frankfurt and Osaka.
Anybody who knows how much I hate the darkness in German winters will be able to appreciate just how happy I am to be here right now. And as for the summers (Germany has nearly two hours more daylight on the lightest day), I'll gladly come back to Germany then :-)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
First impressions from the lab
Now that I've been working here for more than a week, I think it's time to share my first impressions of the lab I'm working in.
There is a very convenient shuttle bus from my apartment at Toyonaka campus to the lab at Suita campus. Convenient in this case means that it is free, almost door-to-door (check out the track if you like), and runs three times an hour. Also, the last bus leaves at about 7pm, so that's an incentive to not stay too long in the evenings ;-)
The lab basically consists of three smaller offices (for the professor, associate professor, and secretaries) and one big room where everybody else is sitting. Everybody else means about 20 to 30 people (have a look at the lab members page to see who "everybody else" is).
And, of course, as we are in Japan, it is required that you remove your shoes and put on slippers before entering the lab. Although there are guest slippers available, I bought my own after a couple of days because I just like to wear my own shoes - who knows what kinds of feet the guest slippers have already seen?
My desk sits somewhere in the middle of the room, and it features a snowman carrying a Christmas tree. I'm not really sure why it is there. Maybe they put it there to remind me that it (luckily) won't get cold enough here to see any of that freezing white stuff?
Apparently, there are no real coffee breaks at the lab ("real" meaning those that I got used to in Erlangen, where everybody gathers in the kitchen at a specific time and has coffee together). I'm going to miss those for sure!
Instead, there is a mini-shop inside the lab's big room which is basically just a shelf with goods and a box to put your cash in. This shop features lots of canned coffee (think Red Bull - style cans, just filled with coffee or espresso) and some other stuff, like chocolate bars and instant noodles. In short, everything a PhD student needs to survive so he never, ever has to leave the lab ;-)
So, every once in a while somebody will walk to the shop, return with a can of coffee and maybe stop for a little chat at another person's computer on his way back. And that's it for socializing over coffee (not that I'd understand any of the socializing in Japanese that would be going on).
In addition to the mini-store, the lab is also equipped with a fridge, microwave oven, sofas, and a flat-screen TV. You can see most of this stuff on this picture I made:
There are quite a few non-Japanese members in the lab, especially among the post-docs and assistant professors. The countries they are from include Australia, Korea, Poland, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and (of course) Germany. I hate to admit it, but their big advantage over most of the Japanese lab members is that their English is a lot better.
For lunch, most of the lab members either bring food from home and heat it up in the microwave, or eat some of the instant noodles available in the mini-shop. Luckily, there are a few guys who regularly have lunch at one of the university cafeterias available on campus. Having lunch with them is just as funny as the lunch times back in Erlangen always were - I'm feeling really lucky!
There is a very convenient shuttle bus from my apartment at Toyonaka campus to the lab at Suita campus. Convenient in this case means that it is free, almost door-to-door (check out the track if you like), and runs three times an hour. Also, the last bus leaves at about 7pm, so that's an incentive to not stay too long in the evenings ;-)
The lab basically consists of three smaller offices (for the professor, associate professor, and secretaries) and one big room where everybody else is sitting. Everybody else means about 20 to 30 people (have a look at the lab members page to see who "everybody else" is).
And, of course, as we are in Japan, it is required that you remove your shoes and put on slippers before entering the lab. Although there are guest slippers available, I bought my own after a couple of days because I just like to wear my own shoes - who knows what kinds of feet the guest slippers have already seen?
 |
| Aren't they beautiful? ;-) |
My desk sits somewhere in the middle of the room, and it features a snowman carrying a Christmas tree. I'm not really sure why it is there. Maybe they put it there to remind me that it (luckily) won't get cold enough here to see any of that freezing white stuff?
Apparently, there are no real coffee breaks at the lab ("real" meaning those that I got used to in Erlangen, where everybody gathers in the kitchen at a specific time and has coffee together). I'm going to miss those for sure!
Instead, there is a mini-shop inside the lab's big room which is basically just a shelf with goods and a box to put your cash in. This shop features lots of canned coffee (think Red Bull - style cans, just filled with coffee or espresso) and some other stuff, like chocolate bars and instant noodles. In short, everything a PhD student needs to survive so he never, ever has to leave the lab ;-)
So, every once in a while somebody will walk to the shop, return with a can of coffee and maybe stop for a little chat at another person's computer on his way back. And that's it for socializing over coffee (not that I'd understand any of the socializing in Japanese that would be going on).
In addition to the mini-store, the lab is also equipped with a fridge, microwave oven, sofas, and a flat-screen TV. You can see most of this stuff on this picture I made:
There are quite a few non-Japanese members in the lab, especially among the post-docs and assistant professors. The countries they are from include Australia, Korea, Poland, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and (of course) Germany. I hate to admit it, but their big advantage over most of the Japanese lab members is that their English is a lot better.
For lunch, most of the lab members either bring food from home and heat it up in the microwave, or eat some of the instant noodles available in the mini-shop. Luckily, there are a few guys who regularly have lunch at one of the university cafeterias available on campus. Having lunch with them is just as funny as the lunch times back in Erlangen always were - I'm feeling really lucky!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Bunraku
On Sunday, I decided to attend a Bunraku performance at the National Bunraku Theater.
Bunraku is the traditional Japanese puppet theater which was established in the 17th century. Today, Bunraku is classified as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO (and this was reason enough for me to go and see a performance).
The theater has an on-line ticket sale available in English, so I could ensure that the performance wasn't sold out and buy my ticket before actually going there. As I don't have a printer at home, I was happy to find out that they have ticket machines where you can pick up prepaid tickets using the ticket order number.
The show started at 4pm and consisted of two entire plays, lasting for more than four hours in total (quite some value for your money, isn't it?). Between the two plays, there was a half-hour break. During the break, most of the people in the audience sat down to eat some food that they had brought, both in the auditorium and in the hall in front of it. I was rather surprised by this. First, because the theater staff seemed to be ok with people eating in the auditorium, and second because the theater wasn't trying to cash in by selling any food or drinks themselves.
So, what is Bunraku all about? It is a puppet theater, so obviously, there are puppets. The puppets are about two thirds the size of a real human, and are operated by three puppeteers each. Now, the puppeteers are not hidden behind the stage or anything, but are on the stage, in full view of the audience. To imply that they should be treated as invisible, the puppeteers are dressed in black, and also wear a black hood. However, in scenes considered important, the main puppeteer for each puppet may wear a traditional dress and no hood. Of the five scenes I saw during the evening, it seems that four were deemed important enough to feature hood-less puppeteers. Apparently, the non-hooded puppeteers must keep a straight face and show no emotion at all, to contrast the extreme emotions shown by the puppets (as I read in a leaflet explaining the mysteries of Bunraku to foreigners).
The puppets and puppeteers are only responsible for the visual stuff happening in a scene. They do not speak or sing or anything. The acoustic stuff is handled by two additional people. They sit on an additional stage to the right of the main stage. They, too, are in full view of the audience. One of them is the narrator, who not only explains the scene and recounts the story, but also speaks for the different characters on stage with different voices, and also has to represent the various emotions the characters feel. The other one is the Shamisen player (a Shamisen is a little like a three-stringed guitar or banjo), who adds to the narrative and the presented emotions with his playing.
The two plays I saw were "Musume Kagekiyo Yashima nikki" (Kagekiyo and His Daughter) and "Chikagoro kawara no tatehiki" (Oshun and Dembei). The theater website has a short summary for each play. The first play consisted of two, and the second of three scenes. Each scene is enacted by a different narrator and shamisen player, and sometimes also different puppets for the main characters.
All in all, the show was a very fascinating experience, and very different from European theater. The reason I understood anything at all about what was going on, was the excellent English audio commentary/translation that was available via earphone.
But I fear that words alone can be no adequate description of Bunraku. So have a look for yourself if you like: several on-line video clips of a Bunraku performance are available here, but if you only want to watch one of them, I think you should choose this one (about three and a half minutes, it features two puppets with hood-less puppeteers, and the narrator and Shamisen player can be heard, although they are not shown in the video).
One final note: It took me more than one hour to get from my apartment to the theater by train and subway (it seems Osaka is really quite big). Here is the track, if you're interested.
Bunraku is the traditional Japanese puppet theater which was established in the 17th century. Today, Bunraku is classified as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO (and this was reason enough for me to go and see a performance).
The theater has an on-line ticket sale available in English, so I could ensure that the performance wasn't sold out and buy my ticket before actually going there. As I don't have a printer at home, I was happy to find out that they have ticket machines where you can pick up prepaid tickets using the ticket order number.
The show started at 4pm and consisted of two entire plays, lasting for more than four hours in total (quite some value for your money, isn't it?). Between the two plays, there was a half-hour break. During the break, most of the people in the audience sat down to eat some food that they had brought, both in the auditorium and in the hall in front of it. I was rather surprised by this. First, because the theater staff seemed to be ok with people eating in the auditorium, and second because the theater wasn't trying to cash in by selling any food or drinks themselves.
So, what is Bunraku all about? It is a puppet theater, so obviously, there are puppets. The puppets are about two thirds the size of a real human, and are operated by three puppeteers each. Now, the puppeteers are not hidden behind the stage or anything, but are on the stage, in full view of the audience. To imply that they should be treated as invisible, the puppeteers are dressed in black, and also wear a black hood. However, in scenes considered important, the main puppeteer for each puppet may wear a traditional dress and no hood. Of the five scenes I saw during the evening, it seems that four were deemed important enough to feature hood-less puppeteers. Apparently, the non-hooded puppeteers must keep a straight face and show no emotion at all, to contrast the extreme emotions shown by the puppets (as I read in a leaflet explaining the mysteries of Bunraku to foreigners).
The puppets and puppeteers are only responsible for the visual stuff happening in a scene. They do not speak or sing or anything. The acoustic stuff is handled by two additional people. They sit on an additional stage to the right of the main stage. They, too, are in full view of the audience. One of them is the narrator, who not only explains the scene and recounts the story, but also speaks for the different characters on stage with different voices, and also has to represent the various emotions the characters feel. The other one is the Shamisen player (a Shamisen is a little like a three-stringed guitar or banjo), who adds to the narrative and the presented emotions with his playing.
The two plays I saw were "Musume Kagekiyo Yashima nikki" (Kagekiyo and His Daughter) and "Chikagoro kawara no tatehiki" (Oshun and Dembei). The theater website has a short summary for each play. The first play consisted of two, and the second of three scenes. Each scene is enacted by a different narrator and shamisen player, and sometimes also different puppets for the main characters.
All in all, the show was a very fascinating experience, and very different from European theater. The reason I understood anything at all about what was going on, was the excellent English audio commentary/translation that was available via earphone.
But I fear that words alone can be no adequate description of Bunraku. So have a look for yourself if you like: several on-line video clips of a Bunraku performance are available here, but if you only want to watch one of them, I think you should choose this one (about three and a half minutes, it features two puppets with hood-less puppeteers, and the narrator and Shamisen player can be heard, although they are not shown in the video).
One final note: It took me more than one hour to get from my apartment to the theater by train and subway (it seems Osaka is really quite big). Here is the track, if you're interested.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Shopping, part 2
I have some more stuff to add to my shopping experience. First, if you're interested: check out this link which shows the path to "my" supermarket, starting at the East gate of Toyonaka campus (the International House is the first building inside the campus).
Then, the opening hours: for administrative stuff (like the alien registration office) and banks, the opening hours are as inconvenient in Japan as they are in Germany. For supermarkets, and especially for convenience stores, however, the opening hours are pure paradise. For example, the supermarket I went to is open from 9am to 11pm - on EVERY single day, including Sunday! And convenience stores are regularly open 24/7. So forgetting to buy groceries before the weekend will not lead straight into starvation, as it would in Germany ;-)
Convenience stores are just like small supermarkets. They have a smaller selection than regular supermarkets, and are more expensive. But their selection of take-away food is nearly as good as in other supermarkets. So they are very similar to the stores at German gas stations. But you can do some additional stuff there, like pay your electricity and utility bills (so you don't need a bank account for this!), and you can also prepay for orders on Amazon.jp.
Regarding Amazon.jp: I have ordered a book which will hopefully help me reduce the time I spend in supermarkets - the Guide to Food Buying in Japan supposedly explains how to find your way around the supermarket, pronounce Japanese writing, what to expect on labels and packaging, and so on. I only ordered it yesterday, so it hasn't arrived yet. I'm curious whether the address I gave them was really sufficient...
Then, the opening hours: for administrative stuff (like the alien registration office) and banks, the opening hours are as inconvenient in Japan as they are in Germany. For supermarkets, and especially for convenience stores, however, the opening hours are pure paradise. For example, the supermarket I went to is open from 9am to 11pm - on EVERY single day, including Sunday! And convenience stores are regularly open 24/7. So forgetting to buy groceries before the weekend will not lead straight into starvation, as it would in Germany ;-)
Convenience stores are just like small supermarkets. They have a smaller selection than regular supermarkets, and are more expensive. But their selection of take-away food is nearly as good as in other supermarkets. So they are very similar to the stores at German gas stations. But you can do some additional stuff there, like pay your electricity and utility bills (so you don't need a bank account for this!), and you can also prepay for orders on Amazon.jp.
Regarding Amazon.jp: I have ordered a book which will hopefully help me reduce the time I spend in supermarkets - the Guide to Food Buying in Japan supposedly explains how to find your way around the supermarket, pronounce Japanese writing, what to expect on labels and packaging, and so on. I only ordered it yesterday, so it hasn't arrived yet. I'm curious whether the address I gave them was really sufficient...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Shopping
On my first day, right after checking my e-mail and unpacking one of my suitcases, I went out to look for a supermarket. I had obtained directions from the nice lady at the International House's office, and after about a 10-15 minute walk, I arrived at the supermarket. The supermarket is not the closest to my apartment, but it seems to be one of the biggest - though it is not as big as for example a Kaufland in Germany would be (maybe the size of an Aldi or Lidl, I guess).
I quickly find out that most of the products are labeled in Japanese writing only - maybe one in four or five articles has at least some English description on it, but in most cases limited to less than five words. The dictionary doesn't help because it is sorted by pronunciation - and how would I know how to pronounce Japanese writing (especially the Chinese-style Kanji)?
For example, "Hand soap" were the only two English words on a bottle of liquid soap (or so I thought) which I bought. The bottle was full of Japanese writing which (probably) contained a more detailed description of the product. At home, it turned out that the soap wasn't liquid as I had guessed by the bottle's appearance, but foamy. (at least it was soap!) The situation is even worse in the shampoo department, because for each brand, they place two different bottles (shampoo and conditioner) next to each other. For the ones that have English writing it is easy to figure out which is the right one to buy...
On some shelves, there is no English description whatsoever on any of the products, and I also can't figure out what it is by looking at the products or their packaging. One shelf is just white stuff in different forms and different textures. For some shelves, I have a guess which I think might be accurate - the white stuff might be tofu - but unless I learn how to type Japanese characters or find a free on-line OCR tool that can work on digital images, I have no easy way of validating my guesses.
So if you're looking for something specific, shopping takes a really long time. For example, I wanted to buy cereals, low-fat milk and low-fat yogurt for breakfast. I was lucky to find some imported cereals, and as the packaging was transparent it was quite easy to figure out what was in it. Milk was fairly easy to find, too - but how to figure out which of the different types is regular milk, low-fat milk, and non-fat milk? No English description on any of the milk boxes, of course. There are some percentages given on the back of each box, but I haven't yet figured out what they mean. Certainly there is no milk with 8.7% fat, so that's not an option. There is also a list of the calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates the product contains. But which of the three numbers is protein, or fat, or carbohydrates? Well, I think I figured it out after comparing several different types, and bought one with 1% fat. Fair enough. Finally, non-flavored low-fat yogurt. Flavored yogurt looks a lot like the flavored yogurt you can buy in Germany, so I started looking in the vicinity. I found some containers that might have been curd or yogurt, but there were some images on the containers that were more typical for yogurt. So then I only had to figure out again which was regular and which low-fat. So finally, I had breakfast covered. Now imagine that there were many more items on my shopping list...
But well, it is also a lot of fun because I like to visit grocery stores in foreign countries, and Japan is no exception - just a little more time-consuming than other countries...
I also like to experiment and try stuff I have never tasted before (including stuff where I don't even know what it actually is). And for this, there is ample opportunity here.
For example, the Japanese sweets and snacks. Some look very strange. Some look similar to western stuff, but taste entirely different. Many taste different from what I would have expected from the pictures on the packaging. But I think I will be able to fill more than one blog post with strange sweets and snacks, so I'll write more of that later.
Another thing I noticed is that there is only soft bread, mostly toast. Among all the toast, I found some bread that looked like German brown bread. But when I touched it, it was as soft as all the other types of bread available.
As you would expect, there is lots of fish: fresh, packaged, processed into take-away food (Sushi, anyone?), frozen, in cans, and so on. I'm not really an expert on fish, but there is not only lots of fish, but also lots of different types of fish. I wouldn't be able to name most of them...
Yet another thing I noticed is that there is lots of convenience food - or at least I think that's what many of the shelves contain - and freshly made take-away food. I have started trying all that fried stuff you see in the image below. I actually came upon one that tasted like Rösti - very nice surprise!
I quickly find out that most of the products are labeled in Japanese writing only - maybe one in four or five articles has at least some English description on it, but in most cases limited to less than five words. The dictionary doesn't help because it is sorted by pronunciation - and how would I know how to pronounce Japanese writing (especially the Chinese-style Kanji)?
For example, "Hand soap" were the only two English words on a bottle of liquid soap (or so I thought) which I bought. The bottle was full of Japanese writing which (probably) contained a more detailed description of the product. At home, it turned out that the soap wasn't liquid as I had guessed by the bottle's appearance, but foamy. (at least it was soap!) The situation is even worse in the shampoo department, because for each brand, they place two different bottles (shampoo and conditioner) next to each other. For the ones that have English writing it is easy to figure out which is the right one to buy...
On some shelves, there is no English description whatsoever on any of the products, and I also can't figure out what it is by looking at the products or their packaging. One shelf is just white stuff in different forms and different textures. For some shelves, I have a guess which I think might be accurate - the white stuff might be tofu - but unless I learn how to type Japanese characters or find a free on-line OCR tool that can work on digital images, I have no easy way of validating my guesses.
 |
| The shelf containing white stuff |
So if you're looking for something specific, shopping takes a really long time. For example, I wanted to buy cereals, low-fat milk and low-fat yogurt for breakfast. I was lucky to find some imported cereals, and as the packaging was transparent it was quite easy to figure out what was in it. Milk was fairly easy to find, too - but how to figure out which of the different types is regular milk, low-fat milk, and non-fat milk? No English description on any of the milk boxes, of course. There are some percentages given on the back of each box, but I haven't yet figured out what they mean. Certainly there is no milk with 8.7% fat, so that's not an option. There is also a list of the calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates the product contains. But which of the three numbers is protein, or fat, or carbohydrates? Well, I think I figured it out after comparing several different types, and bought one with 1% fat. Fair enough. Finally, non-flavored low-fat yogurt. Flavored yogurt looks a lot like the flavored yogurt you can buy in Germany, so I started looking in the vicinity. I found some containers that might have been curd or yogurt, but there were some images on the containers that were more typical for yogurt. So then I only had to figure out again which was regular and which low-fat. So finally, I had breakfast covered. Now imagine that there were many more items on my shopping list...
But well, it is also a lot of fun because I like to visit grocery stores in foreign countries, and Japan is no exception - just a little more time-consuming than other countries...
I also like to experiment and try stuff I have never tasted before (including stuff where I don't even know what it actually is). And for this, there is ample opportunity here.
For example, the Japanese sweets and snacks. Some look very strange. Some look similar to western stuff, but taste entirely different. Many taste different from what I would have expected from the pictures on the packaging. But I think I will be able to fill more than one blog post with strange sweets and snacks, so I'll write more of that later.
Another thing I noticed is that there is only soft bread, mostly toast. Among all the toast, I found some bread that looked like German brown bread. But when I touched it, it was as soft as all the other types of bread available.
As you would expect, there is lots of fish: fresh, packaged, processed into take-away food (Sushi, anyone?), frozen, in cans, and so on. I'm not really an expert on fish, but there is not only lots of fish, but also lots of different types of fish. I wouldn't be able to name most of them...
 |
| Fish... |
 |
| Fresh fish... |
 |
| ... and strange-looking fish |
Yet another thing I noticed is that there is lots of convenience food - or at least I think that's what many of the shelves contain - and freshly made take-away food. I have started trying all that fried stuff you see in the image below. I actually came upon one that tasted like Rösti - very nice surprise!
 |
| Take-away food |
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Jouney
So now I've arrived in Japan, and already survived my first day. The entire trip, from the airport in Frankfurt to my new apartment in Osaka was one of the smoothest I've ever had.
There was virtually no waiting time at the check-in because I had to use the bulky baggage counter due to the bike trunk I was checking in. So there was about an hour left to say goodbye to my mom and sister over a cup of coffee (err... actually two cups of chai and one hot chocolate) at Starbucks. I went through security about ten minutes before boarding time (they wondered about the hard drive and the bag of cables I was carrying...), and boarding was already on its way when I arrived at the gate.
I was positively surprised by the entertainment program on the plane, because they were showing both Salt and Inception, which I had wanted to see for some time but didn't catch at the cinema. Inception really is a great movie - and there are many details you really only get when you watch it for the second time (which I did over breakfast in the plane...)
After landing, there were only about five minutes waiting time at the immigration counter - there were three open counters for foreigners, and about five or six for Japanese people, but only a handful of foreigners on the plane :-) I was curious about how my bike trunk would be delivered at the baggage claim, but of course they didn't put it on the belt, but wheeled it in manually instead. The customs officer wondered about the huge trunk, of course, and wanted to know how long I would stay in Japan.
And then... that was it! On the way out, I made a short stop at an ATM in the terminal, and then proceeded to the bus which would take me from Kansai International airport to Osaka Itami airport, where I would be picked up later. The ticket machine was easy enough to use (with an english menu available...), and the loading of my suitcases into the bus was handled by some guys in uniforms. They even put tags on the suitcases and gave out pick-up numbers.
The bus traveled on an elevated expressway almost the entire time, so I got to see only the top half of the city on the way. In several places, there were three or four levels of road and train tracks stacked over each other - you rarely see that in Germany. At the bus stop in front of Osaka Itami airport, I was picked up by Indika, a member of the lab where I will spend the next six months. I was suprised how easily my two suitcases fit into his car because it looked quite small from the outside.
The drive to Toyonaka Campus International House was very short, and after I completed short the check-in procedure, I could already enter my apartment. I received no keys - the apartment door can be opened and locked using a four-digit code on a pin pad, and the mailbox has a single-dial combination lock. So I don't have to worry about losing keys or locking myself out :-)
The apartment is really nice and has recently been refurbished. It is furnished, so all the important stuff is there, including (most importantly) a LAN port. Apparently, Internet usage is free and no set-up of any kind is required. So, all in all, it took less than three hours from landing to Internet usage at my new apartment. Very smooth!
There was virtually no waiting time at the check-in because I had to use the bulky baggage counter due to the bike trunk I was checking in. So there was about an hour left to say goodbye to my mom and sister over a cup of coffee (err... actually two cups of chai and one hot chocolate) at Starbucks. I went through security about ten minutes before boarding time (they wondered about the hard drive and the bag of cables I was carrying...), and boarding was already on its way when I arrived at the gate.
I was positively surprised by the entertainment program on the plane, because they were showing both Salt and Inception, which I had wanted to see for some time but didn't catch at the cinema. Inception really is a great movie - and there are many details you really only get when you watch it for the second time (which I did over breakfast in the plane...)
After landing, there were only about five minutes waiting time at the immigration counter - there were three open counters for foreigners, and about five or six for Japanese people, but only a handful of foreigners on the plane :-) I was curious about how my bike trunk would be delivered at the baggage claim, but of course they didn't put it on the belt, but wheeled it in manually instead. The customs officer wondered about the huge trunk, of course, and wanted to know how long I would stay in Japan.
And then... that was it! On the way out, I made a short stop at an ATM in the terminal, and then proceeded to the bus which would take me from Kansai International airport to Osaka Itami airport, where I would be picked up later. The ticket machine was easy enough to use (with an english menu available...), and the loading of my suitcases into the bus was handled by some guys in uniforms. They even put tags on the suitcases and gave out pick-up numbers.
The bus traveled on an elevated expressway almost the entire time, so I got to see only the top half of the city on the way. In several places, there were three or four levels of road and train tracks stacked over each other - you rarely see that in Germany. At the bus stop in front of Osaka Itami airport, I was picked up by Indika, a member of the lab where I will spend the next six months. I was suprised how easily my two suitcases fit into his car because it looked quite small from the outside.
The drive to Toyonaka Campus International House was very short, and after I completed short the check-in procedure, I could already enter my apartment. I received no keys - the apartment door can be opened and locked using a four-digit code on a pin pad, and the mailbox has a single-dial combination lock. So I don't have to worry about losing keys or locking myself out :-)
The apartment is really nice and has recently been refurbished. It is furnished, so all the important stuff is there, including (most importantly) a LAN port. Apparently, Internet usage is free and no set-up of any kind is required. So, all in all, it took less than three hours from landing to Internet usage at my new apartment. Very smooth!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Departure imminent - prepare to be busy!
So, welcome to my newest attempt at starting a blog. As you may know, my last attempt failed miserably after about three and a half posts a couple of years ago. But: in contrast to the last one, this blog actually serves a purpose, so maybe it will survive a little longer.
The purpose is, of course, to keep everybody updated about how I am doing in Japan, and also to record my experiences so I won't forget.
The past few weeks have been surprisingly busy, what with all the paperwork I needed to fill out for my scholarship, wrapping things up at the university, saying goodbye to all my friends, giving up my apartment, and planning exactly what I will take with me to Japan.
That last item was more time-consuming than I had thought. I first wrote up a packing list using some lists from the internet and the extra stuff I knew I needed/wanted. The list turned out suspiciously long. I then decided to weigh all the single items and put together a spreadsheet that would give me the final weights of the checked baggage, bike trunk, and carry-on baggage. Good thing that I did, because otherwise my suitcase would have ended up being more than 10kg too heavy... So I removed several items from my packing list - including all the dressy clothes I had planned to take. I'll just have to do with jeans, outdoor clothing and sportswear ;-)
Well, and if the past few weeks were surprisingly busy, then the last two days were REALLY busy. First, I had to pack all my stuff - and not only the physical stuff, but the virtual stuff on my computer as well, which was way harder to do. Then, I had to clean the apartment, put everything into a rental van, pick up some more boxes from my old apartment, and hand the keys over to the landlord.
I also had to do a last-minute run to the bike store to have them help me remove the pedals from my racing bike. I attempted that task yesterday and failed, and of course yesterday was a holiday in Bavaria, so no professional help was to be gotten, and I had to squeeze it in today. By the way, the pedals have to be removed so that the bike will fit into the bike trunk that Falko most generously lent me for the next six months. I am therefore able to take my shiny new racing bike with me to Japan - so watch out for some tracks! :-)
So, after all this, and after driving the van to a parking lot near the train station, I am now sitting in the train to Munich, on my way to pick up my visa (just in time for my flight in two days, right?)
When I get back to Erlangen tonight, I'll drive the van to my Mom's house near Frankfurt, unload it, and return it to the rental company. How's that for a busy day?
Now I won't bore you any longer. My flight leaves on Thursday (LH 740 from Frankfurt to Osaka), so I arrive in Japan on Friday morning local time. Hopefully I'll have some spare time (and internet) on the weekend to write up my first impressions.
The purpose is, of course, to keep everybody updated about how I am doing in Japan, and also to record my experiences so I won't forget.
The past few weeks have been surprisingly busy, what with all the paperwork I needed to fill out for my scholarship, wrapping things up at the university, saying goodbye to all my friends, giving up my apartment, and planning exactly what I will take with me to Japan.
That last item was more time-consuming than I had thought. I first wrote up a packing list using some lists from the internet and the extra stuff I knew I needed/wanted. The list turned out suspiciously long. I then decided to weigh all the single items and put together a spreadsheet that would give me the final weights of the checked baggage, bike trunk, and carry-on baggage. Good thing that I did, because otherwise my suitcase would have ended up being more than 10kg too heavy... So I removed several items from my packing list - including all the dressy clothes I had planned to take. I'll just have to do with jeans, outdoor clothing and sportswear ;-)
Well, and if the past few weeks were surprisingly busy, then the last two days were REALLY busy. First, I had to pack all my stuff - and not only the physical stuff, but the virtual stuff on my computer as well, which was way harder to do. Then, I had to clean the apartment, put everything into a rental van, pick up some more boxes from my old apartment, and hand the keys over to the landlord.
I also had to do a last-minute run to the bike store to have them help me remove the pedals from my racing bike. I attempted that task yesterday and failed, and of course yesterday was a holiday in Bavaria, so no professional help was to be gotten, and I had to squeeze it in today. By the way, the pedals have to be removed so that the bike will fit into the bike trunk that Falko most generously lent me for the next six months. I am therefore able to take my shiny new racing bike with me to Japan - so watch out for some tracks! :-)
So, after all this, and after driving the van to a parking lot near the train station, I am now sitting in the train to Munich, on my way to pick up my visa (just in time for my flight in two days, right?)
When I get back to Erlangen tonight, I'll drive the van to my Mom's house near Frankfurt, unload it, and return it to the rental company. How's that for a busy day?
Now I won't bore you any longer. My flight leaves on Thursday (LH 740 from Frankfurt to Osaka), so I arrive in Japan on Friday morning local time. Hopefully I'll have some spare time (and internet) on the weekend to write up my first impressions.
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