japan

  • Tokyo 2010: Kayabuki

    As Much fun as Nikko and the Sakura blossoms were, the real reason for the detour from Tokyo this trip was to visit neighboring utsunomiya, famous for its gyoza, and moderately less famous, but infinitely more fascinating for The Kayabuki restaurant and its unique waitstaff

    Creepy Mask, right? But after receiving our hot towels, the waiters decided to take a break to come and join us during the meal

    Without the mask fukuchan is slightly less creepy, but her assistant, yaachan is beyond adorable. What you may notice in the 3rd picture is fukuchan deciding to bite my head while yaachan tries to eat my jacket. For her behavior, fukuchan had to be disciplined and I was politely invited to spank the monkey. Please commence snickering

    As you can see the restaurant is fairly small, and typical izakaya fare: gyoza, kara-age (think fried chicken), some other stuff that we didnt really pay attention to because we were too busy playing with the monkeys who would pick at the vegetable parts of our food. In the background are photos of all the various people who have come to investigate this eatery, including CNN, BBC, and multiple japanese news networks. Who doesnt love a monkey?

    Now everybody brace yourselves for a big “awwwwwww”

    Assuming xanga’s new editor worked, above is a photo of the baby monkey eating.

    After dinner came grooming,

    Dessert…

    Then more delicious monkeys!!

    I kid, I kid. Instead we actually watched the monkeys ride on a rocking horse, do backflips, and spin in circles while balancing on a giant ball. However, given that we had to make sure to catch the last train and not be stuck walking 30 miles back to tokyo, we had to cut our time short. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to smuggle or barter a monkey out, but there’s always next time.

    With just one day remaining in tokyo on my vacation, I had no idea what I would do next…and until the next post, neither do you!

     

  • Tokyo Trip 2010: Nikko

    Early the next morning, Andy and I set off for Nikko, a 2 hour train ride north of Tokyo, and home to the Toshogu shrine, burial site of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan’s famous shoguns/historical figures
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    Along the way, andy marked another victory in his ongoing battle against Japan’s insect population off on his wall.
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    A brief stop at Asakusa’s Senkai Gate to pick up some snacks for the trip, and a mere 2 hours or brief nap later, we had arrived. Now Nikko is a little bit further north, with slightly colder weather…meaning it is still cherry blossom season there
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    Despite the Rain, an everpresent companion on my trip until it’s last day, Andy and I decided to wander around and see where fate led us.
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    When first I came here, I used to know the significance of this bridge, full of knowledge of Japanese language and culture, fresh out of college. This time, Andy and I agreed…some famous dude did something here or built this and because of that it’s very pretty and 10 dollars to cross. We took pics and kept walking
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    Toshogu shrine had been retouched since last I visited and with all the gold plating and new growth on the temple, looked amazing even in the miserable weather
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    The famous “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” monkeys on the stable of Toshogu shrine. And me adding the 4th mantra…do no evil. The one I always seem to have trouble with

    After wandering in and out of gardens and temples for a couple hours, I was starving!
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    Now Andy had told me that Nikko is famous for Yuba, sweet tofu skin. Of course by the time we reached the restaurant it had closed. Along with most of the other restaurants. I guess Japanese people dont want lunch at 3pm. After extensive wandering we finally found the one restaurant open and figuring it was a sign, in we went.

    Fortune of fortunes, not only did they have what I was craving (oyakodon-a chicken and egg dish over rice) but they also had the Yuba. We got everything we wanted in one place! And striking up a conversation with the owners of the restaurant, we mentioned that given the weather we were thinking about going to an onsen (hot spring) to relax before heading to dinner. When we told them the one we wanted, they insisted they knew a better one that was only slightly more expensive. In the spirit of yes, I agreed…however when they told us it would be a $26 dollar taxi ride to get there, not to mention back, we hesitated and asked how far it would be to walk. Sensing our financial burden, and determined to not have the nice foreigners waste their trip at a low quality hot spring, the owners literally closed up the restaurant and one of them offered to drive us over to the place. At which point you really cant refuse, not that we particularly wanted to.

    So off we went in the car of a total stranger, along roads that got progressively less paved. It was a lot like being kidnapped. We were dropped off in the middle of nowhere
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    As our benefactor drove off leaving us with no other options, or any idea of where we were, in we went to explore the hot springs
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    A relaxing time was had by all, and in the next post you will see our next dinner adventure

  • Tokyo Trip 2010: Kagaya Izakaya

    So after a long day of toy shopping, I met up with andy and off we went to dinner.
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    Now before I go any further, here is a bit of background. Whenever I go to Tokyo, I always take my friend out to dinner for hosting me. I usually spend a couple weeks beforehand searching for restaurants. Normally these are of the theme variety, so while breakfast and lunch are usually standard japanese fare (ramen, sushi, tonkatsu, etc) dinner is typical japanese fare in a crazy setting. This place, Kagaya, located off the shimbashi exit on the ginza or hibiya line was recommended multiple times as one of the number one weird/fun restaurants to visit. Andy and I called the night before and made reservations, not knowing anything about the place other than this. We were the first ones in the restaurant and for about 30 minutes, the only ones there. Now, in most japanese eateries, you are brought hot towels before the meal

    Next, we had to order drinks. Now the entire menu was written in crayon in a childrens sketchbook, but more on that in a moment. From the menu, you had to select first your drink, and then a country (brazil, france, america, england, korea, japan, china) the style of which you would be served. So Andy chose to have some plum wine served from brazil

    The reason for the abruptness of the video is because I was definetly not expecting the owner to charge out at me.
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    Andy enjoyed his pisswater quite thoroughly. Now before I ordered my drink, another young couple entered the restaurant. Both Japanese, the girl, chika, spoke english quite well, so our two table (the entirety of the restaurant) hit it off quite well. Chika asked for her drink french style

    Of course what you dont see is him spending 3 minutes frantically sketching and painting, only to ball up the paper, scream in disgust, and throw it away, then begin again for another 3 minutes. After which he kissed it and handed Chika her portrait
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    Next I ordered my drink American style…which apparently begins with a puppet show
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    We spoke with the frog puppet, who asked if we would like to meet his friend from america, Dick. Of course we said yes at which point the owner came charging out at us again in…

    In case you cant here, he is shouting “Attack! Dick Missle! Dick Missile!” At which point he frog roscoes chika and then comes over to do the same to me.
    If you search Kagaya on you tube, you can find all his many performances and costumes. But in case you forgot, we have only ordered drinks! Next it was time for the food
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    You will note the menu has no actual food selections, but instead a short speech stating how hungry you are and what you want the owner to do about it. Initially, I picked the left and Andy picked the right. Then the owner told us that was too much work for him and we would both be getting the meal on the right. You all remember my personal motto, right? “WHAT THE HELL IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT DECISION!” So, we allowed the owner to give us whatever tickled his fancy
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    Above is a fraction of the food we were served…steamed pickeled daikon, kabocha, tofu, along with some bitter greens, mackerel, chicken teriyaki, and curry rice. Every time another dish was set out I inwardly winced at where I would find enough room for all this great food. And while we were eating it, the owner kept coming by with games for the four of us to play, like an operation type maze where the metal rod cant hit the sides or it buzzes, or a who is fastes game where the last one to press their buzzer gets an electric shock. Andy won a game, so the prize we got was inflatable plastic balloon straws from our childhood
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    After what was an amazing meal, almost all of which was spent laughing and having a fantastic time, we prepared to say our goodbyes. The owner asked me if I wanted to be like him, and of course I responded absolutely. If I could own a restaurant one day half that fun, I will count it a huge success. So he gave me some bourbon and then

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    We had such a good time, I managed to convince Chika and Masa to come do some karaoke with us. Of course, the owner warned us to be careful of ninja, who he said often attacked foreigners. We thanked him for the warning and left.

    Half a block away from the restaurant, he jumped out of an alleyway at us with a plastic sword screaming Ninja! Ninja! He had literally left his own restaurant with two people still inside, to follow the four of us down the street and surprise us.

    Best. Restaurant. Ever.
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    After an hour or so of singing with new friends Masa and Chika, Andy and I caught the last train back to his place is Aobadai, crammed in like sardines on the evening commute rush. Not to bad for a first day, eh? Tomorrow, Nikko and Utsunomiya

  • Returning Memories-Tokyo Vacay day 1

    My first day in Tokyo was much less eventful than my plane flight over. Since it rained the whole day, making me a sad panda
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    I decided to go to one of my favorite places in tokyo, the nakano broadway plaza where I added another $200 worth of toys to my collection. Here are some of the random places I stopped during the first day wandering through nakano, shinjuku, and shibuya
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    Breakfast at Mister Donut!
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    And what would donuts be without some coffee made from a wicked cool coffee machine. Of course, coffee acts as a laxative, so I made a quick potty stop, and found this helpful sign in the restroom
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    Then, well fed and with a bag full of toys I walked off through the rain towards takashimaya times square and my favorite department store in tokyo, Tokyu Hands
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    I love drinking alcohol out of glass footwear. Beer from Das Boot, and Midori from Das slipper.
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    Crab People
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    After that it was time for lunch, cupcakes and sake
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    Why would I have sake in the afternoon…well let me give you five reasons
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    I did it to refuse the future. This was somewhere around my 6 or 7th trip to Japan, and at least the 4 or 5th to tokyo, making the journey a strange mix of new experiences and deja vu. I would wander the streets and find alleyways I knew I had been down before, and pictures I had taken, such as the sake reasons above, and it would stimulate my memory, helping me to find the right series of alleyways to track down my favorite ramen-ya in kabukicho. Whose Name I still cant remember, but it’s three alleys up and one over from where I stumbled across that sign.
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    Even though my language skills have fallen off somewhat, my comprehension remained surprisingly intact…so while I am sure I sounded like an idiot with several conversations, I still managed to get around and communicate well enough. After Chicago and Los Angeles, Tokyo is probably my 3rd best known city…I am fairly familiar with its neighborhoods and what lies therein.

    However in the interest of keeping posts short and readable, I will what I did in the evening for the next post. But hey look how good I did…the same day I came back I got all my pictures uploaded and even managed to knock out a post. That has got to be some kind of Josh record!

  • Fo sho, my nihonjiggas

    Any of my friends or readers living in japan…please please send this to me if you see it

    Off The Hook, a dictionary of African American slang, in being sold
    in Japan to help them better understand the language used in many
    bigger cities like Boston and New York.

    Relationships

    Apple Pie Peach Cobbler

    Seriously, you have no idea how happy it would make me

    -J

  • You might be in Med School if…Happy Colon Chan

    Blah…more studying and coming back to eat, blog and bed. I am actually spending more time at starbucks than i do at home. I probably have so much secondhand caffeine smell i can wake you up with a mere whiff of my sweat. Or failing that, a slap.

    Anyhoo, allow me to present the kawaii-ification of the by Japan-Meet Happy Happy Colon Chan:

    Happy Happy Colon-chan!

    Cant forget happy happy stomach chan either. Thank you japan. thank you so so much.And you people can wonder why i want to live there

    Some more, you might be in med school if:

    you physical-exam practice partner has touched you more than your significant other.

    ou
    roll over on a Saturday morning and open your eyes to find your laptop,
    histo book, and a pile of notes all snuggled up next to you.

    No matter how many breast exams you give, there’s still a little 3-yr old in the back of your head saying “Hehe, boobies.”

    you mix up perineurium and perineum; and uvula and vulva

    you’ve flipped someone “the C7″

    If
    in the weeks preceding to tests, you forget how to speak english and
    feel that an appropriate substitute word is
    dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine

    You might be a med student if you
    can still remember the waterfowl of the chest. (i.e. esophaGOOSE,
    azyGOOSE, vaGOOSE, thoracic DUCKt)

    you’ve realized that your standards for hooking up have decreased exponentially…(when i first moved to chicago, anyway )

    -J

  • Leftover Japan Pics

    So here are the last few pics of my trip to Japan which i did not quite
    get around to talking about here…and involved an all night
    dance/drink/lovefest in roppongi clubbing, a morning after breakfast of
    sushi and green tea at Tsukiji fish market, and a relaxing day at the
    park in kichijoji, not to mention some pics of the area arounds andy’s
    place at Musashi Koganei

    TSUKIJI

    Negi Toro (left) Chu Toro (center) and Fish Skin


    Tsukiji fish market

    8 times the goodness!

    fresh off the docks!

    unloading the days catch

    Temple in Tsukiji

    MUSASHI KOGANEI

    Japanese fire truck

    Everything in Japan is so smaru

    Japanese Garden near Andy’s Place

    The Cat Path

    KICHIJOJI

    Night view of lake at Kichijoji

    Kichijoji park

    Path to shrine at Kichijoji

    Lake at Kichichoji

    Beware Sexual Perverts!

    So i learned on this last trip that all cell phones in Japan are
    required to make a beeping sound or some kind of alert when utilizing
    the camera function, and that is because of people like those on the
    sign above…heh.

    SHINJUKU

    Mario Kart Victor!

    bet you want to try one, dontcha?


    Matsuya!!!



    And I feel this pic is a fitting end to my Japan Adventures which it
    has taken me almost 2 months to chronicle. Hopefully you have enjoyed
    viewing the pics as much as i enjoyed taking them. We will shortly
    return you to your regularly scheduled postings, consisting of rants,
    raves, links, and of course, wacky porn…

    til then, peace out, and look for me in Tokyo again in July!

  • Japan At Last! Part 11- The Final Installment

    The next morning, we dropped mary off at the train station to return to
    nishitosha, and Ari and I set out to explore some more of Karatsu and
    Fukuoka.

    Now Fukuoka is on Kyushu, which is not the most technologically advanced part of Japan. In fact, it is pretty darn rural

    Lovely mountains though…

    And wonderful Karatsu castle…an original copy of the one that burned
    down in the mid 1800′s which was itself a replica of the original
    castle yada yada yada

    Karatsu from the castle grounds





    click on the above pic to see me flexing on top of the castle

    get off my castle lawn, you crazy kids

    Having thus seen everything Karatsu had to offer, Ari took me to a
    playground. Next to a nuclear power plant. With the steepest scariest
    slide ever

    That is a kamikaze style drop yo! He then dare me to slide down it…

    I changed my mind at the last minute…but he stepped on my fingers,
    cackled evilly, and went to go join the one armed man for a drink as i
    slid to my doom…and delight…yay slides!

    See how steep it is?

    I needed some meditation time to recover after that harrowing experience..

    Ari and I may grow old, but we will never grow up

    After we got bored of playing at the park, we decided to grab a bite to
    eat, and then drink some beer and do everyone’s favorite beer drinking
    activity…drunken fireworks! yay Karatsu!

    look at it go…

    goodbye career in politics


    Then we called it a night and a good one at that

    The next day, we went to see the plum blossoms blooming at
    Fukuoka…not quite as good as sakura (cherry blossoms) but still very
    pretty and uplifiting. And mobbed by the elderly.
    and us


    .
    The fruits from these flowers will eventually be made into plum
    wine…yum! and other ume-related products, but mostly wine! yay!


    more photography lessons from Andy before I left tokyo enable me to learn about the macro function on my camera…

    and Ari added some tips too, improving my skills even more


    my current desktop background




    And now that you have all been exposed to my sensitive side through my
    many pictures of pretty pretty flowers, allow me to remind all my
    female readers that I can be masculine too

    I totally kicked his ass

    And here is what I would look like as a mexican wrestler

    To end the evening, Ari Sam and I went to an onsen, a traditional
    Japanese hot spring, which is an activity i enjoy so much, it is the
    only time and or place i will immerse myself in water given my deep
    seated issues with the ocean ad all things swimming related

    but i digress…much hot springs were enjoyed, as was some sauna, which
    was over 140 degrees farenheit…i cooked like a sausage.

    As my final day in Karatsu dawned (and my second to last day on my
    japan trip, I accompanied Ari to work, where I got to play english
    teacher for a day


    It was soo much of the fun! Ari and I did some of the same exercises
    that were done to us when we were in elementary Japanese…we taught
    the kids some vocabulary, and then got them to come up and do little
    skits/dialogues about their favorite activity and movie

    which with some of the kids was like pulling teeth. I learned a sad
    fact about the japanese eduacational system…it does not encourage
    creatvity or imagination, and in fact actively stifles it, so a lot of
    the kids did not want to volunteer to go, and we had to resort to
    forcing them up there…but i think in the end they all enjoyed the day
    anyway, ad i got to see a glimpse of what my life could have been like
    had i opted to do JET instead of going to med school…
    right down to the school lunches…

    I returned to Tokyo that day pretty satisfied with myself and all i had
    accomplished during my trip. Next time I will post some more pics that
    i neglected to mentiion in the other installments, and then pics of
    Ken’s visit to chicago, st patty’s day and greek easter

    I am about a month behind on backlogged photos, but catching up
    -J

    UPDATE:: I just found out I am going back to Japan AGAIN this summer
    for a week after I leave China! When my acupuncture program ends, i fly
    from beijing to toyko, where i have a stopover before heading to the
    us…Since my bro will be in Japan filming a documentary that week, I
    will be meeting up with him and we will return to LA together one week
    later.

    The Brothers dworetzky will be rampaging through Japan! whut whut!

  • Japan At Last! Part 10- Karatsu and Fukuoka

    Hung over from running Naked, I caught an early morning train down to Fukuoka on Kyushu to meet up with uclari and roninmk

    No cure for a hangover like a potato

    Hey! it’s ultraman

    Here is me with mary…sadly not enough time was spent together, but
    good times were had nonetheless. We are in front of the yahoo dome, in
    the city of fukuoka, whose airport designation is FUK and whose city
    name is spelled fuk u, ok?

    Seaside Mall

    At the beach…who knows what evil lurks under those seemingly placid waters.

    So after wandering around the city for a little while, we opted to go to the top of Fukuoka tower to check out the view

    And also show my nipple to Fukuoka…that’s two Japanese cities I have flashed



    Awww….look at the little piggy…

    Hadouken!

    yoga fire!

    Dragonballs lesser known cousin…gaijinballz

    So after all the fun of being immature, we got hungry…so we all went
    out to dinner at the local mall. And found more ways to be immature!!!
    yay!





    If you look carefully, you can see mary in the background pretending she doesnt know us…

    After dinner, Ari, Mary, me and Ari’s friend Sam all decided that the perfect end to the night would be…

    KARAOKE!!! YET AGAIN!!!!! HOOTIE HOO!

    Take my hand…

    off to never never land



    A whole new world….(dont you dare close your eyes)

    With new horizons to pursue…(hold your breath it gets better)

    So yes sam was Jasmine and I was Aladdin, and what a sexy pair we made

    did i mention we were a little tipsy? at a ghetto karaoke place? oh
    well no matter…here we are telling Mary that she’s lost that loving
    feeling. Woah-oh that loving feeling

    stop! in the name of love!

    or love hotel…

    after that it was home for a quick shower, dinner, and then relaxing
    with friends…namely a fight to the death between mary and I in soul
    caliber….fear the staff of kilik! your ivy style is good, but it is
    no match for my dragon style

    Sadly the next day mary left us, but Ari and I continued to have many good times as you shall see tomorrow

    -J

  • Japan At Last! Part 9- Okayama and Naked Man Festival

    The next morning, Vinh and I hopped into his car and took a brief drive
    down to pick up some other people…angie, adam(?) and virginia
    (correct me on those names vinh if i messed them up please)

    Having all piled into the car with even more new friends (i meet a lot
    of strangers when i travel…go fig) We set off on a three hour road
    trip to Ookayama to partake in the Hadaka Matsuri aka Naked Man Festival

    >
    But wait…I get ahead of myself. Allow me to back up a little bit. So
    when first emailing back and forth with vinh about my (then) upcoming
    trip to Japan, i was originally going to stay with him for several days
    in Nara and Kyoto. During one email he happened to mention to me that
    he was going to be leaving his place earlier than expected due to his
    learning of, and desire to participate in this Hadaka Matsuri thing,
    and he asked if i was interested in going along

    well, I googled Hadaka Matsuri and discovered that participating meant
    i would be running drunk through the streets of Japan wearing nothing
    more than a loincloth as part of a shinto fertility ritual

    Government endorsed streaking? who could possibly turn that down? Not me.

    So we took the 3 hour drive down to ookayama telling stories to each
    other all the way about the various stupid things we all did in
    undergrad and how hard we used to party, and just being friendly and
    getting to know each other in general. Aside from the cross country
    drive to school with my brother, it was one of the best road trips ever.

    We got down to Ookayama where we checked into a tiny little hotel that
    was next to impossible to find, and where we met about 50 other
    JET’s  who would also be participating in the festival. We then
    went out to another izagaya around 6ish and began drinking

    drinking you say? why would you drink if you were going to be running
    naked through japan in the middle of february at night in about 20
    degrees farenheit? why indeed

    On the far left is Zack, on the far right is Adam and flashing the peace sign is James (i think)

    Yeah i dont remember who these people are

    Some of my road trip companions

    Looks like we are really good friends doesn’t it? that’s the magic of beer my friends…

    Vinh and Nina

    Team Nara!

    I am pretty tipsy by this point…about 3 or 4 of those monjo beer bottles and a few cups of sake into the evening festivities

    Right about this point, two of the veterans got up to explain to us a little more about what was going to happen…

    The Hadaka Matsuri supposedly began during the edo period some 500
    years ago on a cold winters day when local priests were distributing a
    paper amulet. Rumors of the amulets effectiveness soared and people
    began pouring into the temple en masse to claim some of this good juju.
    Overwhelmed by the swollen numbers, the priests made their way up to
    the temple rafters and began throwing the charms into the crowd below.
    Over the course of time, the paper amulets were replaced by a pair of
    wooden batons called shingi, two kanji characters meaning treasure and
    wood. Whoever obtains one of these sticks is blessed with a year of
    good fortune (not to mention good sex mojo)

    But i digress. Basically Zack and Luke informed us that we wood first
    pay approx 15 dollars to purchase a loincloth known as a fundoshi
    (think sumo diaper) and some tabi (little white ninja boots). We would
    then take these into a changing tent where we would pay a little old
    Japanese man approximately 10 dollars for the privilege of giving us a
    wedgie

    As in, lucas warned us to hold the loincloth up very high near our
    chin, and cup the giblets with the other hand, for zack (acting as the
    japanese fundoshi tyer) would be taking the rest of the loincloth that
    is running through your legs and around your genitalia and…

    Yep. Yanking up HARD. and trust me, when i went through it…they did.
    Had it not been for the protective hand, i would be singing soprano and
    not base. Now after you get this peace of cloth jammed up your crack,
    for lack of a better term, the cord would be looped around you once or
    twice, and then pulled down equally hard, placing whatever cloth had
    not already been firmly wedged into your ass the rest of the way there.
    the final result would be

    a tiny strip of cloth dangling down meant to cover and simultaneously
    symbolically suggest the size of your manhood. If you had not held the
    cloth up high enough, you would look as if you were stepping lightly in
    your shoes, so to speak. If you did not want to pay for this, and tried
    to do it yourself, in all probability you would be running naked. Not
    that the cloth covered more than the actual penis itself however…my
    gloriously pale ass was still visible to all of Japan.

    Sounds like fun right? Running with the bulls is for sissies…

    So all good and liquored up, we boarded the bus to take us to the
    temple. Obviously, I would have no place on my naked body to hold a
    camera, so I handed it off to one of my new friends virginia and told
    her to take lots of pics and video. unfortunately for you she didnt see
    me during the actual event so i have no pics of my loincloth clad
    body…but i looked good…ask anyone who was there…the dity workout
    paid off




    >
    In case you are wondering, wasshoi in Japanese means i’m cold and
    shitfaced and here with my brothers in arms to fight nearly naked for a
    pair of sticks. Those subtitles will get you everytime



    move along, nothing to see here

    What are we all waiting in line for?

    Well, at around 8pm, they let us go in groups to cleanse ourselves in
    the temple pond located near the main gate. Now this is no mean feat
    here…despite how gay the idea of a bunch of naked men frolicking in a
    lake may appear, allow me to remind you

    1.  It is the middle of february, hence about 20 degrees farenheit
    2. It is night
    3. I am wearing nothing more than a thin strip of cloth over my privates
    4. I am drunker than drunk
    5. I am jumping into a cold lake under all the above conditions

    Once in the lake you are supposed to make a minimum of lap around while
    touching the gluteus maximus and mammary glands of the female statue
    sitting in the center of the lake. (fertility ritual, remember?)
    Somewhere during this lap i lost one of my ninja boots, so i came out
    of the lake with a dripping wet, icy cold loincloth, and one equally
    wet paper thin shoot. But dont worry…i lost the other one on the run
    to the temple. SO i was barefoot for the rest of the ceremony. SO
    obviously once leaving the lake, the pace picks up in an effort to keep
    warm

    We make our way to main pavilion of the temple (running barefoot on
    cobblestones and wood no less), while the priests up in the rafters
    pour “holy” (read as: ice cold-literally) water on the combatants.

    All of the above take donkey sized cojones. Now allow me to add o a few
    more tidbits i forgot to mention…once you are on the temple grounds,
    it is like being in a giant naked mosh pit. You lose the ability to
    move independently of the mob and whichever way it goes, you go. You
    only have the ability to shift yourself at most a couple inches in any
    given direction and even that takes massive effort since you are
    crammed together like sardines with the other combatants.

    Incidentally i dont use the word combatants lightly; a number of people
    have died over the years taking part, and many more have been injured.
    The fighting and shoving that take place is pretty damn brutal and
    while not encouraged, is anticipated. Newly intiated members of the
    yakuza wear flesh colored tape to hide their tattoos and sneak knives
    or other objects under the tape with which to start fights and all the
    better if it is foreginers.

    Not to say that you are not equally in danger from all the rest of the
    japanese just jostling you and stepping on your feet or jamming elbows
    into you as the crowd shifts. At times you have to place your hand up
    into the air, just to creat a conduit so you can breath. The
    tempurature heats up from all that body heat and the buckets of ice
    water being thrown on you from the priests are both a shock and relief
    right up until they evaporate once they hit your skin

    .

    At 11:00pm the last of the groups are ushered into the main building.
    This year 10,000 men participated. Our nara team alone was about 50. At
    this point in the night the chanting (wasshoi!) becomes deafening and
    the struggle for position begins. Those in the inner sanctum start
    swaying and chanting in unison, like hypnotized. Others are on the
    rafters perched like vultures waiting for the carnage about to begin.
    The tempo builds and the pushing and moving of this massive mosh pit
    becomes more violent, with men on the outer edges of the shrine’s
    veranda being shoved off in the hundreds. Nor are these railing with
    handles…these are cold, brutal steep narrow stone steps and a painful
    landing for any who do not quickly catch their step.

    Fights
    begin to break out as the clock approaches midnight. Since 8pm
    we have been huddled shivering and sweating at the same time waiting
    for this moment. As the clock strikes midnight, a switch is thrown and
    the complex plunges into darkness. The shingi are dropped into the
    thousands of outstretched grasping hands below. Those only moment ago
    clinging to the walls thrown themselves into the crowd like kamikaze.
    Within seconds the sticks are claimed and the struggle to keep them
    begins
    r>


    Now i fought for the stick but not too hard since there is only one
    place to safely secure a shingi if you manage to get it in the first
    place-and that’s down the front of your shingi. Yes folks not only do
    you streak as part of this ritual, but you stuff your loincloth. Now
    try and imagine fighting your way out of a mosh pit with a wooden stick
    shoved down your pants. Now remember that on other teams are people
    looking for the shingi to the extent oh having team members who run up
    and will give other men the reach-around to see if the shingi is hidden
    in the crotch of the fundoshi. I got more action that night then i have
    seen all year :-O. Now lets says you had the shingi, then the fellow
    who just got to second base with you will scream for his teamates to
    help him get the shingi from you, and well i think you can all imagine
    what happens next. So if the shingi happened to come my way, great and
    if not, well, i tried

    Finally the fights began to disperse, a team emerged bloody but
    victorious and we all made our way back to the changing tents. Sadly my
    CMS beanie was stolen, but since everything else was still there, i
    came out ahead. We then made our way back to the buses basking in our
    own glory among each other. We had faced the beast and survived. And
    while it was an awesome exprience, i think i can confidently say that
    once was enough.

    Fundoshi and Tabi: 1000 yen
    Man to give you a wedgie: 1000 yen
    Bus ride to temple grounds: 500 yen
    Government sanctioned streaking with strangers in the middle of Japans coldest month of the year at night: priceless

    hows that for a mastercard commercial?

    Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops…no the next morning i
    woke up both drunk and hungover simultaneously. It felt sorta like
    this…

    “Dixon was alive again. Consciousness was upon him before he
    could get out of the way; not for him the slow, gracious wandering from the
    halls of sleep, but a summary, forcible ejection. He lay sprawled, too wicked
    to move, spewed up like a broken spider-crab on the tarry shingle of the
    morning. The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he
    resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again. A dusty
    thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth had
    been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its
    mausoleum. During the night, too, he’d somehow been on a cross-country run and
    then been expertly beaten up by the secret police. He felt bad.

    So yeah





    I bid vinh and all the rest of my new friends goodbye and caught a
    train out of okayama heading for my last stop of this trip, karatsu
    (sounds like “carrots”) to meet up with uclari and roninmk

    It was off to the countryside for me…

    -J