Of Rain, Ramen, and Origami Gomi-Bako.

Hello, readers!

Row-of-the-Rowstein, here.  Today's blog post will be a meandering, photo-filled parade of the last week or so of my life in Japan.  Here goes:

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The new year's classes have, after many ceremonies and orientations and checks of various kinds (only some of which I understood), officially begun at my school.  That means I'm back to doing my whole English teachery thing.  Hooray!

I'll admit, though, that I was a bit apprehensive before these new classes started up.  (What if these students don't like me?  What if I can't control the class?  What if I run out of lesson ideas?  What if my new teachers don't like the way I teach? Etc, etc, etc.)  But, after meeting with all my classes, I feel much relieved.  My students are fabulous and friendly, my teachers are great, and my schedule is workable.  I'm hoping it's a good foundation for a great school year.

And, now that I've been there for a while, I feel like I'm starting to be accepted by the school as a whole, not just the English Department.  A teacher noticed that I didn't have a chalk-case, as I was admiring someone else's, so they got me one.  And I promptly decorated it with a sticker.  Because, you know, I'm 5.

Cute snake!  Chalk!  Happy!

I know it's not much, but when the Japanese teachers make a point to include me as part of the group in any small way, it makes me feel really good.  And valued.  That can be a rare feeling as an ALT.

Anyway, my classes two weeks ago (the first of the school year) went swimmingly.  And to celebrate, on the following weekend, my friend Eleanor and I decided to spend some time in Tenjin (a particularly hoppin' area of Fukuoka city), eating ramen and going shopping.

We hit a very famous ramen chain called Ichiran.

Eleanor and I get very excited about food.

Tonkotsu (not to be confused with "tonkatsu") ramen is a notoriously delicious local food here in Fukuoka.  The soup has a rich pork base, which is usually served with super thin noodles, slices of pork belly meat, green onions, a spicy miso-sauce, and sometimes sliced mushrooms.

At Ichiran, when you walk in the door, you buy a food ticket from a machine.  The selections are incredibly limited.  Think a handful of buttons that say things like:  RAMEN, EGG, FRIED THING, EXTRA EGG, EXTRA FRIED THING, BEER, and so on.  But variety is not as important in Japanese restaurants.  Quality is important.  You go to a restaurant that makes one thing, because it makes that one thing reeeeeally well.  And so it is with Ichiran.

So, after several moments of Eleanor and me bumbling with the ticket machine (it was so easy, we'd assumed we were doing something wrong... ha!), we took our seats at tiny, adjacent dining booths.  Then we filled out a "Preference" sheet, kindly written in English, indicating how we'd like our ramen to be prepared.  (Note:  You can see my ramen ticket, ラーメン, just above the paper.)

We pushed a button, causing a veritable three-part chorus of はああああい from within the restaurant, and a server came and took our orders.  Within minutes, two lidded crocks of unbelievable deliciousness arrived at our tables.

I wish you could smell photos.

Now, everyone has their opinions on Hakata ramen, and I'm not saying that Ichiran is the best.  But on this rainy, cold day... this tasted like absolute heaven.  HEEEEEAVEN.  (Insert Homer Simpson drooling sound).

When / if you finish your ramen at Ichiran, a unique "fortune" awaits you at the bottom of your bowl.  I've forgotten what mine says, now, but it was something cheeky and funny, like, "You've finished this soup, you must be happy."

Here's a photo of the outside of the restaurant.  Sorry I couldn't get better perspective, but it was raining rather hard and I didn't want to get out from under the awning.  Blogger fail, I know.

And here's a shot of the neighborhood, called Tenjin (sometimes also called Daimyo).  It's a super lively place, with more cafes and shops than you could shake a stick at.  And I mean that literally.  If you picked up a stick and shook once it at every shop you came to, you'd pass out from exhaustion before you even left the Tenjin Core building.

After shopping and chatting for a few hours, we headed back to Hakata Station (a regular stop for the two of us) and found a parfait shop, hidden on the basement floor in one of the many dining clusters.  Unsure of the menu, and me with a serious aversion to fruit, we gambled and each ordered a Japanese style parfait.  They're towering confections, as you can see.  Eleanor was choco-banana, on the left, and mine was a coffee-something-or-other, on the right.

Parfaits digested and many good times had, we then went our separate ways, taking our respective trains home.  A lovely Saturday.

The next day, I spent all morning (and I mean ALL MORNING) studying for the GRE.  But I got fed up with being inside on such a gorgeous day, so I hopped a train to my favorite place in the area, Dazaifu, and walked to Tenmangu Shrine.

Here are some pictures:

A small child watches the koi.

The beautiful gate.

Kid waves "Bai bai" to the fish.

The shrine proper, with lovely trees.

Looking back at the entrance.

After buying a few charms and offering a prayer to Michizane, I decided to take a very long, very ambling walk all the way home.  The day was lovely, though, and the mind-clearing time was much needed.  Successful weekend = complete!

Now, jumping ahead to a mid-week event of note.  I participate in a weekly Japanese class on Wednesdays.  But, every 4th Wednesday, we have an optional event instead of class.  This week, we went to a "Japanese Manners Dinner," where we learned techniques for picking up and using chopsticks properly, what NOT to do with our chopsticks, how to serve and eat some traditional Japanese foods, etc.

Here are some highlights!

First course!

D, workin' that sukiyaki.

Delicious steak.

Tasty, tasty sashimi.

As the meal was winding down, our teacher offered to teach us how to make origami trash-cans out of newspaper.  We made them and, of course, the first thing I said was, "This could be a hat!" and I put it on my head.  Because, you know, I'm 5.

Origami fashions, yo.

So, there you have it!  My last two weeks crammed right into a nutshell.
Sorry if you're allergic to nuts.

Thanks for reading!
WR

April Fools

At this point I have spent 8 years of my adult life living in the northern parts of the Midwest.

The winters are hard, but that is part of the charm.  You go about your life on -80 gajillion degree days, pretending you neither notice nor care that three of your ten digits froze and fell off two blocks earlier.

You turn to the new transplant from SoCal at the bus stop saying, "It's not so bad, you should have seen it two years ago".

January and February are suitably brutal, but you know it's coming.  March is predictable in its unpredictability.  The month with the lions and the lambs and such . . . got it all well in hand.  April?  April is where it all turns around.  The month of returning to biking, the month of budding trees, tulips springing up, when you see the potential for the summer to come, and . . .

... God ...

... Damnit ...

... Minnesota.

It's April #&%@$ 18th!  Even the CATS are trying to escape from this god forsaken month . . .

. . . and they're INDOOR ONLY!

Ach, so it goes.

As I'm sure you've gleaned, it's the Stein portion of RowStein this week.  And although the weather has been spectacularly bad so far this April, the consequent lack of outdoor activities has given me no good excuse not do everything I need to get done.  Namely, piles upon heaps upon mountains of schoolwork.  I've been truly up to my eyeballs in work since Whit headed back to the land of the rising sun.

The good news is that there is an end in sight!

The bad news is that it will be 4 weeks, with some pretty high hoops to jump through (flaming of course), in the meantime.  I'll outline the craziness that will be end of the semester and the ensuing summer next time, but for now bed beckons with sweet dreams of temperatures breaking 45 degrees . . .  you know . . . in July.

Ta ta for now, and don't forget to feed the fishes.

DW

A New Beginning.

So.  It's been a while.  (clears throat)  How've you been?

Oh, good.  That's good. 

Me?  I've been busy.  Sure.  You know, Japan.  And school.  Stuff.

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Sakura = Spring!  A fresh start!  Right?

Okay, really.  I'm sorry.  I know it's been a long time.  Dan and I should have written, I know.  But every week, more and more "things" piled up... more and more "things" to write about... and before we knew it, it was so overwhelming that the thought of trying to catch up the blog was a horrific, terrible, vomit-inducing prospect.

So, we're going to just start over.  Start fresh, from here.  One brief "catch up" (See below), then the RowStein Compendium will be back on a steady weekly rotation.  I promise.

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WR posing with her chocolate replica of the "Iron Throne."

ROW-Stein:
WR is really enjoying her life Japan, despite the occasional Phase-2-Culture-Shock moment.
WR passed the Japanese Language Proficency Exam, level 5.  (Yes, it's the easiest. But whatever.  Shut up.)
WR is getting better at her job, every day.
WR participated in a J-pop dance performance with her co-workers (sober, even!) at a school festival.
WR performed two 10 minute manzai (a Japanese comedy style) skits at school events with a coworker.  Entirely in Japanese.
WR is studying for the GRE and the next level of the JLPT.
WR made a friend on the train, who she talks to every day on the way to work.
WR loves Hakata Ramen.
WR misses her husband and cats.
But, all in all, WR is doing well.

DW with a Rags on his back.

Row-STEIN:
DW is kicking academic ass in his new program, getting straight A's so far.
DW got a Teaching Assistant position at his University.
DW has continued his physical training from the Tri, and is still biking, running, and swimming regularly.  (Okay, well, as much as Mother Nature allows.)
DW is still baking, making killer-delicious breads on a regular basis.
DW got into an awesome SLP summer program.
DW is enjoying his first steps along a new career path.
DW visited WR in Japan, and loved it.
DW also loves Hakata Ramen.
DW would not recommend laying-over in LAX, as it is very lame.
DW misses his wife.
But, all in all, DW is doing well.

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WR & DW, walking the Fushimi Inari.

There you have it. 

From here on out, expect regular updates of the blog.  No, really.  We swear this time.  It may not follow the same style as we used to... but we'll do our best to post often.

Thanks for reading (again)! 
And don't forget to feed the fish!  They're probably STARVING.

WR

Kyoju 301!

The Metrics:

10.2          =  The number of kilometers WR wandered in Chikushino last weekend

2               =  The number of very short conversations WR has completed,
                      totally in Japanese.
288,754   =  The yen in WR‟s last paycheck (WHOOO!).

2               =  The number of “Margaritas” WR consumed, at a local Chikushino bar.

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Hello from Japan, loyal readers!

Yes, it is I! The “Row” of the “Rowstein.” I know it’s been a very long time since I’ve written for the blog (sorry about that). But, as of yet, the Japanese Telecommunication Gods have deemed me unworthy of Internet service. We’re hoping that will be fixed in the next three weeks or so (GAH, THREE MORE WEEKS, GAH!). The good news, though, is that I have a smartphone, which allows me access to my gmail, Facebook, Skype (sometimes), Viber, and WhatsApp. So don’t be afraid to drop me an email! I always enjoy hearing from my stateside buddies.

So, Japan. Where do I start? I’ve been here for over a month now. (Time’s really flying!) I feel like I’m adjusting pretty well, which is great for my daily life… but terrible for blog writing. Where to begin with a blog post? What do I talk about? I’ve asked myself, “Do I tell them about the funny foods I sometimes see in the grocery store?” Or, “Do I tell them how there’s corn and mayonnaise on nearly every pizza on the delivery menu?” Or, “Do I talk about my suburban hometown, Chikushino? Or my urban work and play-town, Fukuoka?”

I talked to my husband about the challenge of starting, and he suggested I start small. Something simple, something personal. Like… my apartment!

I live in a kyoshokuin jutaku, which just means “Teachers / Government Employee Housing.” Most of the buildings are old (as is mine) and most of the buildings are pretty ugly (as is mine). But my apartmen is in great shape on the inside and the rent is DIRT CHEAP (about $165 American, depending on the day’s exchange rate), so I can’t really complain.

As you can see, it’s not the loveliest of buildings. But, hey! It’s home!

The layout of my apartment is pretty standard for this era of jutaku. There are three tatami rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom (shower / tub, and sink), and the other bathroom (toilet and tank-sink). It’s pretty spacious, as far as Japanese apartments go. Heck, it’s spacious as far as Twin City apartments go! Since I have only a few pieces of furniture (bequeathed belongings from the former ALT), it remains a rather spare and plain place. But, what currently I lack in color and personality, I gain in having plenty of open space and an orderly, clean, and functional apartment. (Besides, in a few weekends, I’m going to go to the Fukuoka IKEA and go shopping for some furniture of my own! Yippeeee!)

Well, let’s start at the start! My apartment has a heavy, metal, submarine-like door, which makes a satisfying Ka-CHUNK when you close it. Dan has heard it many times over the phone, and can attest to its incredible noisiness. Just inside the door is a shoe-alcove (the Japanese word for it escapes me). It’s a recessed entry way, complete with tiny shoe closet, where everyone removes their shoes before entering.

At first, I thought it was silly and excessive to never wear my shoes into the apartment. But now, with how clean my floors stay, I’m a believer!

The first room you come across is my bathroom (the shower-tub kind). Here’s a photo.

Yep. That’s my “shower.” The big blue-green, square thing is my soaking tub (something I only use for hand-wash laundry, since it’s summer). The metal box, just to the left of the tub is the gas-powered water heater. There’s no mega-water-heater for the building. Each primary water outlet (usually, the kitchen sink and bathing area) has its own small heating unit. See the white hand crank? To make the water hot, I hold down a gas-release function and crank that handle until the gas lights. Then, the water is wonderfully hot! To shower, I switch the heater to the “shower” function, turn on the water, and use the handheld water wand to bathe. There is no shower curtain needed, as the room itself is made to get wet. See the drain in the floor? I just stand there and bathe. It’s strange at first, I’ll admit. But it saves water and it makes for a nice spacious place to shower.

The next room is my other bathroom.

I have a Western-style toilet (versus the traditional Japanese-style), a thing I’m very grateful for. (Google Japanese “squatter” toilets. Search it on YouTube, I dare you.) The back water tank has a very Japanese feature, though. See how it’s mounted on the wall? See the spigot and sink atop it? It’s a great feature that saves a ton of water! When you flush, the new water that fills up the back tank comes out the spigot and goes down into the drain, allowing you to wash your hands with the water from the future flush!

Pretty smart, no?

Next, is the kitchen. I have a small fridge (which is being replaced Tuesday, due to it spontaneously filling up with water), a microwave, a rack with a toaster and rice cooker, a simple utilitarian sink, and a two-burner gas cooktop, with a fish oven. What is a fish oven, you ask?

 

Well, it’s an oven for fish! (Or toast. Or… other small food items.) I’ve yet to use it, so I can’t really report on it’s functionality, but the cooktop is brand-spanking-new and works great for everything else. So, I’m sure it will bake fish with the best of ‘em!

The other three rooms are my tatami rooms. They are called tatami rooms, because they have tatami mats (up until now, all the other rooms I’ve mentioned have had a firm-ish, hardwood-looking flooring). Tatami is a standard-sized, organic, woven-grass mat that is the traditional floor in Japanese homes. It’s softer than a typical Western style floor and, when taken care of, makes for a very comfortable room. But tatami can be easily damaged or discolored, so it takes a little effort to keep it looking nice (hence the “no-shoes-inside-the-house-ever” policy).

I’ve not yet decided on the purpose or layout for my tatami rooms, but they’re currently used as 1.) My bedroom & living room, 2.) My spare bed & closet room, and 3.) The kotatsu room & where-I-shove-all-the-crap-I’m-going-to-get-rid-of closet. These titles will change, I’m sure, after my visit to IKEA. Most of my doors are a heavier, sliding-screen type (not paper screens… think heavy foam and wood). It saves a lot of space and allows for a lot of flexibility, as you can literally just take them down when you want more room. And the sliding aspect means you can put furniture right up next to it, and it’ll still function perfectly as a door. I like them a lot.

What else? My apartment is on the third floor, which gives me a pretty decent view of part of Chikushino, as well as the mountains beyond. It’s nothing breathtaking, but it’s a much better view than looking at the broadside of another jutaku.

I see this view a lot when I’m doing laundry, because my washing machine and clothesline are on the back porch (Oh, and I have a back porch). Washing machines are typically kept outside and dryers are non-existent, mostly because of the nuclear power crisis and the heavy emphasis on power-saving. But at least the washer is free to use (unlike my American apartment counterparts) and my clothes come off the line smelling like sunshine, if a little linty.

That’s all I have time for now! I’ll try to be better about writing in the future. If you have any specific questions about Japan or my experiences, write them in the comments below! I’ll try to answer them in later posts.

Thanks for reading! And, as DW says, don’t forget to feed the fish!

WR

Much to look at, little to read.

The Metrics:

62        =  The number of pictures taken during my travels

4          =  Forms of transit used in arriving at Doe Bay

8          =  The assuredly non-fire-code approved occupancy of our Cabin

2          =  The number of coffee cups in the afore mentioned Cabin's Kitchenette . . . curious

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 Hiyo All,

Whit's internet access has been further delayed, so I'm afraid you all are stuck with me for while longer yet.  On the upside I just returned from the Pacific Northwest, where I was visiting my Sister, Brother-in-law and Nephew, and attending the wedding of a longtime family friend. Since the recent posts have been heavy on the talk low on the pictures, I've decided to reverse direction and post some of the MANY beautiful pictures from my recent trip.  It'll be light on narrative but I'm sure you won't mind ;).

The trip began with a few days in Portland visiting the familia, including my increasingly bipedal nephew Ollie.

Another difficult day at the office for Ollie.

Fortunately he has his assistant Ez to help keep him up to speed
with the days memos.

After a few days we made the rather epic trek to Orcas Island off the coast of Washington, north of Seattle.  While you won't see it in picture form there was a 5 hour drive from Portland to Anacortes, the main ferry port for the San Juan Islands.

This is a panoramic shot of the ferry loading zone, there were easily 12+ lanes of cars waiting to make the crossing.

Yup, the cars got to make the journey as well. I'm sure they
enjoyed the experience of something else carrying them
for a change.

Ollie handling the travel like a champ.

Me having fun with my phone's panoramic function again.  This is just the tip of the iceberg for the beauty of the region.

Once we made it off of the ferry, it took about 50 minutes of additional driving to make it to the wedding location: Doe Bay.

The two bedroom cabin we shared.

putting the doe in Doe Bay

In addition to a whole lot of natural splendor there was a lovely
little garden, as well as a clothing optional hot tub and sauna
. . . for other forms of natural splendor ;).

The next day we back tracked to one of the larger towns on the island Eastsound to have a look around.

Ollie, ready for a day full of adventure!

Nothing pretty here. . . move along . . .

Ollie, recovering from a day full of adventure!

That evening was the wedding itself and everything went off without a hitch . . . or I suppose in this case with a hitch by design.  They couldn't have asked for better weather, it was a cool clear evening, perfect for an outdoor ceremony and reception.

The reception pavilion couldn't have been more than 100
feet from the waters edge.

This was the back drop for the ceremony . . . yup.

The next morning while the rest of the family headed back to Portlandia, my Dad and I stuck around Orcas island for an extra day before heading back to our respective Midwestern homes.

A short hike at Obstruction Pass took us down to the shore.

Not exactly sun tanning beaches.

I think we interrupted something intimate between these two
starfish.

A small panorama from the top of the highest peak on the island, Mt. Constitution . . .
yeah the name leaves something to be desired.

Dan, pinnacle of Constitution . . . *cue laugh track*

Another short hike around part of Mountain Lake.

We spent our last night in a comparatively posh suite in
Deer Harbor, making a subsequently easier travel day.

Finally our time to depart the island came, but nature offered a fitting send off . . . with a ham and cheese croissant no less!

The Orcas Village Inn where we grabbed a bite while
waiting for the first ferry of the morning.

Sunrise on Orcas Village.

Now that I'm back home things are starting to pick up with school so look forward to an update on that front, and hopefully we'll find a way for you all to get some the many amazing stories Whitney has been accruing while getting settled down in Fukuoka.

Until next time, thanks for reading, and don't forget to feed the fish!

DW