I'm coming home

I just got off my domestic flight from Fukuoka to Tokyo. I now have a 2 1/2 hour wait until I leave for Los Angeles. Fortunately, I have the business lounge to hang out in and use the internet to pass the time. It's stormy in Tokyo right now so the flight here had a ton of turbulence and I'm expecting just as much leaving.

I came to this country with really no expectations. I studied Japanese cinema in College so I knew quite a bit about Japan's history and a little about their culture. I did know that this time here would definitely change me but I didn't expect it to this much. For one, this is the first real vacation I have taken in over 10 years so it was just what the doctor ordered. The only time I have really taken off of work has been for a few days to go to Vegas or to Arizona to visit the parents. Also, this is my first experience out of the country and among another culture. There was no way two weeks here wouldn't have an affect on me. The only thing I fear is the transition from this respectful and happy country back to the assholes at home; because the people that were assholes are going to look that much more worse now.

It was a good decision planning to be out here for two weeks because if I had only been out here a week I would be coming home unfulfilled. The first week was enough to get adjusted and prepare for the real fun. I was lucky enough to do and see more than I initially planned on. The only two things I missed were a Sumo match, because they are a traveling act that wouldn't be in Fukuoka until November, and spending a few days in Tokyo. I rest assured that I one day will do those two things because things are looking like DJ may play out here again next year.

So, on that note, until next year Japan...

Sayanora

Doubt Japan has a health code

If Japan has a health code, not everyone needs to follow it. In Tenjin, there are portable restaurants cooking on the street corners. That may sound like something you may have seen in L.A. where they cook bratwurst, but it is not. These little stands were filthy and smelt like feet, wouldn't be surprised if that's what they were serving. Got a picture of one of the stands but it's a little blurry because I was causally taking it as I hurried by the escape the stench.

Tonight we went out to a Yakitori restaurant. We got the VIP room in the back where 11 of us dined. The VIP room was the size of some people's closet. Complete with algae ridden cement floors with open sewage drains. I ignored it all and enjoyed my meats on a stick. Then on a way out took a pictured of the kitchen walls.

We'll see how sick I am tomorrow on the plane ride home.

Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh played professional baseball in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants from 1959 to 1980. In those 22 seasons, he batted .301 with 868 home runs. That's 106 more home runs than the MLB's leader Barry Bonds. Who, might I add, is 7 times the size of Sadaharu Oh. After he ended his career in 1980 he took four years off and then he began coaching. First with his former team, the Giants, and then in 1995, he took over managing for the Hawks. He now owns the record for most wins by a manager in Japanese baseball.

The point of this blog is not to honor this legend of the Japan league because he could have been hitting those home runs out of little league parks for all we know. I'm writing about him because I know what he was doing between 1980 and 1984: He was acting in a movie directed by Steven Spielberg that would also become famous world-wide.

E.T. phone hOHme.

Yeah ladies, I know Tom Cruise

No, I don't actually know that freak. Wouldn't mind knowing Katie Holmes in the Crucible sense though. But three people in Japan think I know him.

I was hanging out in a Dart Bar in Tenjin when I was approached by some Japanese "babes." A little preface to the story: Japanese kids learn English in school for about 4 to 6 years. They probably absorb more out of their lessons than I did with my 8 years of Spanish. So, when an American is around they like to practice the language they learned in school so that the classes were worth it. I was the target on this night, and the conversation that ensued could have only happened in Japan.

BABES
Where from?

ME
USA, California.
(Silence)
Uh, Los Angeles.
(No response)
Hollywood.

They had to of heard of Hollywood. I was right. All of a sudden the girls bursted into a giggle-fit. I checked to see if I had a booger. Nothing there. One leaned in...

BABE
Brad Pitt. You (points), uhhh, know Brad Pitt?

Haha, are you serious? That's like every idiot that asked me if I knew their friend that went to Long Beach State upon learning I went there. Though I had a better chance of knowing that friend in a school of 30,000+ students than I did of knowing Brad Pitt. I casually told the girls "No."

BABES
You know Tom Cruise? Last Samurai!

I looked at my brother, I got the go ahead nod.

ME

Hai (Yes), I know Tom Cruise.

We were the stars of their night. They got to meet their local Baseball team's pitcher and a guy who supposedly knows Tom Cruise. They wanted to take pictures with me. I asked their friend that took the pictures to take one on mine as well, I had to have proof of this and, as you can see, I had to throw out the peace sign to make this picture even more perfect.

Chiba Lotte Marines vs. Softbank Hawks

It was DJ's turn in the rotation to start for the Hawks again tonight. They team they faced tonight are the Chiba Lotte Marines, winners of the Japanese Series two years back under their manager Bobby Valentine. Bobby is a former MLB coach of the Texas Rangers and more recently of the New York Mets. The image at the top of the blog is what is shown on the big screen during the Japanese National Anthem. Bobby on the left and on the right, Sadaharu Oh. Both coaches facing each other, preparing for battle.

Other than DJ's steller pitching tonight, the most impressive thing about the night was the Marines fans in left field. Remember I mentioned the fans of the visiting teams take a small section in left field. There were so many Marines fans they almost took the entire left field. Their songs were different from the others I have heard, and louder, much louder! These dudes had so much energy! Video time...

The game's outcome was no surprise, the Hawks lost. They have yet to win a game since I got out here. Happy to say it wasn't DJ's fault. Pitched almost the identical game as his outting before: 7 innings, 3 earned runs, and nine strikeouts. DJ exited the game when it was tied, so for the second week in a row he has recorded a no decision. I got the video of the game and put in on YouTube: Check it out.

I just realized Sadaharu Oh needs a blog entry done on him because he is a baseball legend out here. I'm going to get to work on one.

Did I take a plane here or a time machine?

I'm starting to question what year I'm in. I always imagined traveling through time in a DeLorean and not a Boeing 747.

Remember the clothing line Stüssy? A skateboard clothing company out of Laguna Beach. I was a huge fan. I would even practice doing that logo when I was bored in 5th grade. Well Stüssy is kind of a big deal out here. So much a big deal, that it's an expensive clothing line. I walked by a Stüssy store in Hiroshima, a store dedicated to Stüssy! I polished the chrome rims of my old Dodge Ram with t-shirts that are now Japan's equivalent to a Coach purse.

Rap is making an appearance in the clubs, and by rap I mean The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 Life After Death album. I'm hoping them playing that album is a homage to the time when rap died because I haven't like rap since him and 2pac got gunned down. Fortunately I only saw one guy in their "rap culture" wearing a flat-brimmed New Era hat with the size tag still on it. That style hasn't caught on out there and I sure hope it doesn't. It still hasn't been explained to me why anyone thinks that looks cool.

Caught a guy walking around in yellow shoes; not sure if that was ever a style though. Remember Crocs? Those popular shoes/sandals that looked ridiculous were a fad for about 6 months a couple of years ago. Well, when we were unable to keep selling them out here we must have sent them out to Japan because everyone has got them.

Wes Craven's horror film Scream is still popular out here. I caught it on cable a couple times. In the Hard Rock Cafe a guy in the Scream mask runs around and scares people when they eat their birthday dessert. Speaking of Hard Rock, no music videos on the TVs newer than 1995, with every other video being Motley Crüe. I wouldn't complain because I love the Crüe, but come on Debbie Gibson should never be spoken of or heard in 2008. Seriously, what kind of love was she actually "shaking" at 14?

The Fukuoka Tower

This gigantic tower was built in 1989. As aforementioned, this is Japan's tallest seaside tower. Roughly 770 feet tall at its antenna with the observation room and restaurant at 405 feet. Built to withstand a magnitude 7.0 earthquake and winds up to 65 m/s (largest recorded quake at 6.o and strongest winds at 49 m/s). The base of the building is 7 times heavier than the above ground tower. The engineers and architects knew what they were doing. I can say that, of course, until there is an 8.0 earthquake or Godzilla battles Space Godzilla...

Real poster. Real movie. Tower right between them. I gotta see it.

So how do I know the facts about this tower you ask? Well, I made a stop there on one of my many journeys through town when I learned that you can take an elevator to the top for a small fee of 620 yen (discounted price because I am a foreigner).

This is the view from the lobby where you wait for the elevator if you were looking directly above you.

Here it is, Fukuoka as seen from it's highest tower...

Of course it started to rain while I was up there. So, I guess this tower is nothing more than a 60 million dollar decoration because there really is nothing in it other than a couple cafes, gift shops, and a restaurant. Maybe it's main purpose is for the satellites on top of it.

At night time, the building illuminates designs on the sides of it. For July and August, it had the Milky Way illuminated on it. I went to take a picture of it but it was September 1st and it was over. During Christmas it will have Christmas trees illuminated on it and hearts for Valentine's Day.

Alone in Fukuoka

For the past three days I have been loose in the city alone. I have walked a minimum of 5 hours a day. I'd probably walk more if it didn't all of a sudden decide to start pouring whenever it feels like it. My feet have a few blisters on them because I only ever wear sandals; my fault. I took a Red Bull with me but remember what I said about trashcans being hard to find? I carried that damn can around for an hour before I could find the proper receptacle.

I felt like Lewis, or Clark (which ever one was better looking), out there exploring. I have been extremely lost quite a bit in the last few days but some how I always make it home. Since Fukuoka is the 5th largest city in Japan, there's no way I've been able to walk the whole area. Fukuoka is divided into separate districts. The district I am in is Seaside Momochi, and I now know my way around it like the back of my hand.

Each day I have taken a different route from the apartment. The first day I went left towards the beach. When I got to the beach, I took my time walking North until I got to the familiar Yahoo! Dome and stopped for lunch at the mall. The beach is not at all like what I am used to in California. Empty beach, no waves, and rough sand with grass growing out of it. The water is warm, but I'm not about to go in it because there is jellyfish.

I think this is the beach's lifeguard. Red bathing suit? Nope. Young, and in great physical shape? No way. Baywatch got it all wrong. Not even sure this guy was alive. I sat on a rock and watched him for five minutes. He never moved.

All the action in the area happens around the Yahoo! Dome. I guess because the JAL SeaHawk Resort Hotel is there along with the Hawk's Town mall. The Hard Rock Cafe is at the mall, which has become my embassy out here. English menu and food I can eat with ketchup and silverware.

The building on the right is the Yahoo! Dome and on the left is the JAL building. I went into the resort and got the the elevator and rode it to the top, nice view, but there is a better one - I'll write about that later.

Once I ventured off into the smaller parts of town, every street corner began to look the same which is why is was easy to always be getting lost. I past by three or four schools. A local high school team was attempting to practice football. I know they have adopted baseball and love it, but football doesn't look like it has a bright future for them. A ton of children ride their bikes and walk the streets alone. It was after a while of being lost that I wound up in the district of Nishijin. This place stunk of fish big time, mainly because there are little markets selling it everywhere.

On the right is one of those Pachinko places.

Pachinko is some kind of slot machine that I don't understand yet. You don't actually win money either. I walked inside and, like a punch in the face, the smell and the noise turned me right back around and out the door I came it. Imagine the noise and cig smell of a Vegas casino and multiply it by a thousand. Then take it to the 3rd power. In this particular area I found 3 American establishments: Baskin Robbins, McDonald's, and...

Afflac! Random, I know.

I'm not big on snapping pictures of myself, but I did it anyway. I know Mike Young is a pro at it, so much so that he needs to write a book on how to do it. I'd read it. That monstrosity behind me is the Fukuoka Tower, Japan's largest seaside building. More about my visit to that in the next entry.

I think this apartment is haunted

My first night here I heard my brother's voice say "Mom" really loud. I woke confused about what was wrong; it was 4:45 AM. I heard nothing else, so I laid back down. Seconds later my mom walked into the living room where I was sleeping. No words exchanged, so that was weird. I asked my mom the next morning if she walked into the living room and if my brother had called her name. She did walk into the living room just to see if I was awake but my brother never called her name. I don't know, but when I said something about it, my Dad said he heard voices too the night before. The voices are in English. Shouldn't Japanese ghosts speak Japanese?

Last night was my first night alone. I took one of the empty bedrooms and hopped in bed. About 3 minutes into my dosing off, guess what? No, no voices. The fucking bedroom door opened! I latched that shit shut! I heard footsteps all night, but that could have been from upstairs. But I heard something at the bedroom door, like something touching the handle. Then the door swung open. I got up and said "No way!" and then slammed the door shut. Hopefully I scared that entity (haha, I said titty), or I just pissed it off more. Damnit, this is going to suck.

P.S. That screenshot is from an upcoming US remake of the Japanese J-Horror film Pulse. The Japanese one was pretty creepy, but the US one will be better because Kristen Bell in it. I like her...

Hiroshima

We woke early and drove to the Hakata train station. The high speed trains in Japan are called the Shinkansen. The particular Shinkansen we rode today traveled from Hakata (Fukuoka) to Tokyo.

Tokyo is about 5 hours or more on the train, but we only rode it for an hour to Hiroshima. That hour ride is 9100 yen (about $85) one way - pretty damn expensive. The train ride is surprisingly really smooth and the seats are also comfortable. If only California had a high speed rail like this from San Diego to San Francisco. Think of the cut down on traffic, accidents, gas, and constant freeway widening. Someone who lives in SD could be to work in LA in an hour or so. Forget it, that's a topic for another blog. Back to Hiroshima...

We arrived at the Hiroshima train station and hopped in a 10 minute taxi ride to the Peace Memorial Museum. At 8:15 AM on August 6, 1945, this site fell victim to the world's first atomic bombing. I never knew this but the bomb never landed on the ground in Hiroshima, it did in Nagasaki however. The bomb actually detinated about 300 feet above the ground (cant remember the distance). The bomb created a fireball that produced winds over 440 meters per second (985 mph) and a temperature of a 5,000 degrees Celsius. In the words of Tommy Boy, "that's going to leave a mark."

There isn't a bias in the museum blaming the United States for taking the lives of 140,000 people and injuring another 210,000 on this first bombing. There are parts of the exhibit showing the reasoning for the US doing this. The first part of the exhibit shows how the Japanese were fucking with every country and starting a lot of unnecessary wars. There is a letter in the museum from Albert Einstein, who worked on the bomb, where he advises President Truman NOT to use it, but he obviously ignores a man a million times smarter than him. There are collections of clothes, lunchboxes, purses, hair, and wrist and pocket watches (all stopped at exactly 8:15) from the bodies. The museum asked not to take photos, so I didn't. Like I said the museum points no fingers, but it does have a very clear message: Never again!

The United States actually do not have the most nuclear warheads in their possession, very close though. It's Russia who has the most, further proving my recent theory that the Russians are out the get us again. I think they're pissed we've interfered with everything good they've had going on. We may or may not have beat them in the space race to the moon (might be fake). We embarrassed them in hockey at the 1980 Olympics. The How about Afghanistan? We armed Afghanistan so that they could defeat the Russians. Then Afghanistan turned around and declared war on us with our own weapons. Haha. Again, that's a whole other blog. My point: careful of the Russians.

The museum is a excellent place advocating peace in the world and the end of nuclear warhead production. It was said that it would take 75 years to regrown plants, but as you can see in the pictures there's green everywhere.

People outside stand out there promoting peace and giving free hugs to everyone - pretty moving.





The bombed structure is one of only a few buildings in Hiroshima that were left standing after the bombing and is the only one still there today.



I took this picture on the T-bridge, which was the target for the bomb - see the dome to the left and how it close it was to the fireball.

After touring the exhibits, we walked into downtown Hiroshima.

Tomorrow my parents go back home and DJ goes on a trip to Sapporo for a couple games. I'm staying in Fukuoka to wander alone for 3 days. This should be interesting.

Softbank Hawks vs. Seibu Lions

DJ had to be at the stadium at 10 AM to practice for the game so my parents and I just lounged around the apartment for awhile. The mall is across the street from the stadium so we went over there early to get some food and check out some Japanese mall rats. What I found was a mall MONKEY!

This monkey was doing acrobatic tricks and was pretty entertaining. Jane Goodall and that dude from Escape to Chimp Eden would throw a fit.

On to the game. The Stadium is beautiful. It has a jumbo-tron scoreboard that is like a gigantic plasma TV, it's crystal clear! I watched batting practice in an empty stadium. The only people walking among the seats were the employees picking up trash and mopping the floor. I don't think a mop has ever touched the floor of Dodger Stadium. After the employees were done, they met with their managers and recited their greetings and "thank you"s (or "arrigato"s) that they must say to all patrons of the stadium. Yeah, I recorded it...

(I took this video discreetly on my still camera so it's not very good)

The stadium began to fill with fans of all ages, and I mean all ages. I saw dudes that looked like they were 130 years old. Everyone is dressed head-to-toe in Softbank Hawks apparel; I wore a hat. In right field are the crazier fans. Drums, trumpets and giant flags all draw your attention to them. The other team has their own small section in left field where they do the same. I guess they travel with the team? In an ocean of yellow (Softbank's color) you see a small patch of blue (Seibu's color) in left field.

These fans are the cheerleaders. When a player from that team is up to bat they do their songs and chants. Loud banging of drums rumble the stadium and the trumpets are heard under the loud singing. These fans mean business! Took another video on the still camera to give you an idea.

Each player has their own introduction when the starting lineup is called, just like back home. But the quality is much better. Here is DJ's.

It was a great game. DJ pitched 7.1 innings with 9 strikeouts and 2 earned runs. Unfortunately the Hawks only scored 2 runs as well, and in Japan, no game goes past 12 innings. The game ended in a tie. Weak.

There is no 7th inning stretch or singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," there is "Lucky 7th" where you blow up balloons with whistlers on the end and let them off in the air. A tad childish, but then again a lot of things in Japan are childish.

Tomorrow is a day off for DJ, so we're going to Hiroshima.

Two of Japan's religions: Shinto and Baseball

My first day here I woke early to do the first thing on my list: learn of Japan's religions. About a 30 minute drive from the apartment is a city named Dazaifu, the location of the Tenman-gū Shinto shrine. This was not a very peaceful place on this specific day. There were shit-load of children there for field trips so it was fairly loud and I don't feel I got the full experience. Not like I could have anyway since everything at this location is in Japanese characters and the only semi-English speaking guide had the day off. Just behind the temple was the Kyūshū National Museum, again the only tour guide was gone so we didn't waste the 2750 yen to get in.

This structure is called a Torii. These Japanese gates are used to mark the entrances of Shinto temples.

Just behind the temple was this area with ponds of Koi fish and some had turtles. Give you an idea of how green this country is.

The country worships something other than the many gods of the Shinto religion, and that's Baseball. Later in the day, I walked to the Yahoo! dome from the apartment, it's only a 20 minute walk. I wanted to make sure I had the route to the stadium down since I would be walking there many times during this trip. I also wanted to get a feel of the process to getting into the stadium and the crowds.

More on Baseball tomorrow. The Match-up: Fukuoka Softbank Hawks vs. Seibu Lions at 2 PM. Seibu Lions have the best record in the entire league. Starting Pitcher for Softbank: D.J. Houlton - Lions are going down.

My first impressions

This country is amazing so far! My first impression of the Japanese people came the minute I landed in Tokyo. Every employee in that airport recognized the fact that I probably won't know any Japanese so they would approach me and, with broken English, offer assistance. Could any of you see an American gladly offering help to a Japanese visitor, or any other visitor for that case? Negatory. Everyone is extremely polite and Fukuoka is spotless! If someone walks by trash on the floor (which is rare) they pick it up whether it is theirs or not. Kids look at you like you're an alien, or Godzilla.

Every road is a toll road with a fee of 600 yen, about $5.50. A country of many smokers and not a single butt on the floor. Men in collared shirts walk the streets sweeping and cleaning gutters. Everyone, I mean almost everyone, rides bikes! There are parking lots just for bicycles and they are PACKED with them. None of them locked to a pole - very trusting people. It's hard to find trashcans around the city, and when you do there are different types because they are big on recycling here. Vending machines are everywhere. There are no paper towels in restrooms (you call them toilets here). Speaking of toilets, there are not many "Western" style ones. Most of them are squatters if you catch my drift. But there are urinals, so that's sweet. Then again, us guys can go anywhere.

Bikes everywhere!

There's the toilets for you, ladies. Not sure if Asian women are as attractive to you guys anymore imagining them using these. Or maybe they're more attractive - whatever floats your boat, sickies.



The vending machines are everywhere. Even ones that sell cigs. Middle of parking lots, sidewalks in neighborhoods, even in the prostitution houses (uh, some guy told me), kidding of course.

Everyone bows to you, and every employee is a model employee. There is NO TIPPING! No one will accept it and some people say it's almost an insult to even try. Like I said about model employees, they are better servers and more polite than any of us without working for tips! Same with cab drivers, no tipping and they'll stop on a dime to pick you up. The taxis are cool, the driver has a lever like a bus driver that opens your door for you and closes it. The cab drivers also dress like chauffeurs, complete with hat and gloves. All the cars are cool out here actually, we need these cars in America, though I have seen one Bentley, a Chevy Tahoe, a convertable low rider out of a Dr. Dre music video, and a Maserati. I have learned very little basic Japanese phrases already so that I can order food or pay for merchandise. I'm sure I'll learn a lot more in these next two weeks. I also have a cell phone that has three translators in the phone book that will help if I get stuck or lost somewhere.

This country is very green; trees everywhere, but it's hotter than shit. Humidity is through the roof and it rains whenever the hell it wants to for a minute or an hour. There is a cloud cover almost all the time and I have used my sunglasses only once. My parents are out here with me for three more days so we'll do some sight seeing together. I'm taking these first days to adjust to everything, and it's going well so far.

P.S. Everyone is an excellent driver out here! Who would of thought that? Ignore the sterotype.