My adventures at Brandeis' International Business School (and Waseda University in Tokyo): December 2006

Letters From Iwo Jima

The Brandeis crew went out and saw this this weekend at Roppongi Hills, which is a very nice complex of shops, cafes, condos.

I would have to agree with the reviews I've read and say that this is one of the better anti-war movies I've ever seen. It accepts that war, while horrible, is sometimes inevitable and necessary.

It also lets us know, in no uncertain terms, how futile and pointless the Japanese defense of this island is. How some Japanese soldier took their bushido code and perverted it into a form of fundamentalism that ultimately led to the near destruction of their country.

In a larger context it talks about how pointless war usually it.

I wish I had better words to describe how powerful and moving it was. It was superbly acted and Eastwood's touch is perfect. It's a beautifully crafted and filmed movie.

Ken Watanabe, as always, was superb. I second my friend Dan when he said that Watanabe is quickly becoming one of his favorite actors.

Seeing something like this spurs me in my desire to better learn Japanese. I want to be able to see this film without subtitles and understand it.

Genki burger!

There is a great little burger shop right around the corner from my dorm. One that I'm very glad I did not discover until recently.

They make several different burgers, but the Genki Burger is the best.

"Genki" means energetic and you often greet people by asking "genki desu ka?" Literally it means "do you feel energetic" but it is like asking someone how they are feeling. "Genki desu" is the proper response, which means "I feel good/energetic."

Here is the vital info for any of you in Japan who might want to find this shop.

And here is a look at the Genki cheese burger. He uses 150g of cheese. Quite apparently, that's a lot of cheese. The burger itself is probably 250g, or about a half a pound.

And I took this just so I can describe what it comes with. It's very simple and very good. Cheese, real mustard, pickles, and ketchup. That's all it needs!

Corega Routers Suck Ass

Don't buy one. Ever.

I was under the impression the Japanese made good electronics. Not these guys.

Matt and I pitched in for a wireless router so we could share our internet over here. This was the cheapest one (which at about $75 was not particularly cheap.) The first one just stopped working, period.

Since I stupidly threw away the receipt (expecting it would work) we exchanged it for the same one. It works, but three or four times a day it drops the signal, requiring a reboot of the cable modem, wireless, and my laptop.

My Linksys router back home has NEVER had issues like this. On the rare occasions it drops the signal, turning it on and off always suffices.

So I repeat, don't buy Corega.

Prayers at Meiji Jingu

was looking through one of the pictures I took at Meiji Jingu, specifically the one that showed all the prayers waiting to be blessed by the Shinto priests.

It was really just a throw-away photo, one I took without much thought at all. Then I decided it might be interesting to look at some of the individual prayers. It was, and I found many different languages and belief systems. Here is a closer look.

More earthquakes today...

But none of them very major at all. Felt a mild shaking as I was lying in bed reading this morning. Then again about two hours later.

This is a map of the earthquake activity around the Kanto Plain in the past seven days

Better lots of small ones than one big one!

U2, Saitama Super Arena 11/29/06

We arrive:

The show begins:

The Edge:

Coexist, ye sons of Abraham:

One:

Adam Clayton (one of the very few shots that weren't blurry)

The band:

Bono (the bright light is the only thing that kept this one fairly focused)

I'll throw up some video later, I just have to edit it first.

Asakusa Kannon Temple

Before heading to the U2 show in Saitama, we decided to get a little more culture and headed to Sensoji to visit the Buddhist temple there.

Tokyo is funny in that a lot of beautiful and interesting temples and shrines are right up against much more modern buildings. No real effort has been made to separate them.

Here is the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) which is the entrance to the shrine. Tall gaijin like us have to walk around the lantern, otherwise we'd walk right into it.

The gate takes you to Nakamise Dori, which is lined with shops that sell all kinds of things, from traditional Japanese yukatas, kimonos, chopsticks and traditional snack to the latest in cheap electronic toys from China.

This picture is taken after we walked the length of the street, you can see the gate in the background.

This is a beautiful little garden/shrine that is on Nakamise Dori right before you enter the temple grounds. I thought I'd taken more and better pictures of the Buddhas, but this is all I can find. I'll have to go back! :)

And at last we enter the main temple area, which unfortunately is under construction as they re-roof some of the buildings and make other improvements.

Before praying, as I mentioned before when I talked about Meiji Jingu, one must purify oneself. One way is to buy incense to burn, making sure the smoke covers your face and head.

One of the many swastikas you see at shrines and temples throughout Japan. Swastika is derived from a Sanskrit word for "good fortune" or "well being" and is a symbol of both, the Nazi perversion of it notwithstanding.

These dragons provide the water for one to cleanse hands and mouth.

There is also a great pagoda on the grounds:

The ceiling of the temple itself has some great murals

You stand before this altar to pray...

And if you wish you can take a chance on receiving good or bad luck. You roll some dice and select your fortune from one of the draws in the background. If it's good, you take it with you. If it's bad, you tie it to the metal bars and leave it behind.

So you have that going for you. Which is nice.

We also stumbled upon a model shoot in one of the side parks:

A few last shots of the temple:

These guys serve the same purpose as Gargoyles on Christian cathedrals

And the other side...Meiji Jingu

As you stand on the bridge with the cosplay girls (and occasional boys) you see this:

This is the torii that leads onto Yoyogi Koen, or Yoyogi Park. Inside is the shrine to Emperor Meiji, who was the first emperor of modern Japan.

As we walked in we saw this young girl in beautiful traditional clothing...we soon realized it would not be the last person we'd see dressed this way, much to our delight.

And yes, it is quite clear from her face that she's had just about enough of being posed for pictures by her father (and various strange gaijin.)

Not exactly sure what these are but I thought they looked really cool:

Soon after this you reach the next torii:

and not too far after that you reach the entrance to the shrine. This next building

is where you was your hands and mouth to purify them before praying. You then pass through one more torii

and then you are inside Meiji Jingu.

This is a horrible exposure (damn cloud cover) but you walk through this, stepping over the threshold and not on it, to enter.

Unbeknownst to us, the shrine is a very popular spot for weddings and there were several going on during our time there.

Apparently in this formal portrait, smiling is not allowed!

This is a better look at the bride's dress:

And from behind...

A more intimate portrait

Her hair deserves a closer look. It's stunning. If that's really her hair, I can't imagine how long it took to get done up like that.

I snapped a shot of these Shinto priests walking through the shrine. The entrance way above is on the left of this picture and the main shrine is to the right.

These blocks are prayer cards that are hung under a sacred tree. The Shinto priests bless them and make sure the spirits receive them. I saw prayers written in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English, French and German to name just a few languages.

I love this photo of a young boy posing for his mother. This photo could be from the Meiji Era...if not for the top of the line Nikon in mom's hands. This sort of dichotomy is common in Tokyo. You often see women in kimonos talking animatedly on their cell phones.