Archive for May, 2014
May 21, 2004 pt1 – Narita Airport
Posted by Barniferous in Team Awesome Sauce on May 21, 2014
I’m not this short – I was crouching down. From left to right: Flounder, Green, me, Hippie, Code Red.
My friends finally arrived today! I woke up early to tidy and vacuum my room. Before I left I pulled out my bright yellow Delta Upsilon Manitoba shirt and headed off to Narita airport on the slow trains. This involved taking the Odakyu line from Noborito to Shinjuku, the Yamanote line to Nippori, and the Keisei line to the airport.
After 2 hours in transit I arrived at Narita Terminal 2 about 20 minutes before the guys flight arrived. I left the train station in the basement of the airport, went through a security check, and then wandered around the terminal. The guys were flying a terrible flight from Winnipeg through Chicago to Narita Airport on United. In the arrivals area I couldn’t find their flight listed at all. After looking around at the signs I realized that United lands at Narita Terminal 1, so I was in the wrong terminal.
There were signs for a bus to terminal 1, but since I was more familiar with trains in Japan I bought a ticket and went back to the train platform. On the platform I learned that the next train between Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 was in 30 minutes. I tried to go back into the airport, but the train gate closed on me. I then attempted to use all of my Japanese skills to explain my situation to the train staff. Fortunately they understood and took pity on me. I walked away with a refund and directions to the bus which leaves every few minutes between the terminals.
Thanks to the incredibly slow lines in immigrations and customs I had to wait about an hour before my friends actually came into the arrival area. The entire time I had people staring at my bright yellow DU shirt. The shirt was very bright, but it did make me extremely easy to find in the crowd. After exchanging greetings and manly hugs, the guys showed me the souvenirs they brought from Canada; a case of Kraft Dinner and a 12 of Moosehead beer. I am so Canadian.
While the guys took turns exchanging money and cashing in travelers cheques, I was approached by an unlicensed taxi driver who offered to drive us to Kawasaki. I know he was unlicensed because no taxi drivers are allowed to solicit business in the airport terminal. I expect that our cab ride from Narita to Hello House would have been extremely expensive. I finally got him to leave and we bought tickets for the Narita Express.
Just like when I arrived months earlier, we changed trains in Shinjuku during rush hour. I took the group outside to get their first look at the Shinjuku skyline and mobs of people. If you ever bring people to Japan I recommend doing this. We changed to the Odakyu line and traveled the rest of the way to Hello House incident free. The Team Awesome Sauce adventure was about to begin!
Team Awesome Sauce Presents…
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Team Awesome Sauce on May 20, 2014
Over the next month you will get to read all about the crazy adventures when my fraternity friends came to visit me in Japan. They were only in the country for about two and a half weeks, but some days require multiple posts. This will also help bridge the gap before my next set of visitors.
When I moved to Japan, I put out an open invitation to my friends and fraternity brothers to come and visit anytime. Many were interested, but only 4 managed to get the time and money required for an international adventure. During their long flight they gave themselves a nickname which stuck for the rest of the trip. Faithful readers: please allow me to introduce to you – Team Awesome Sauce.
Green – if you look up “frat boy” in a dictionary, you will likely find Green. Never afraid to have another beer or remove his shirt in public. Eventual chapter president.
Hippie – so named for his flowing hippie hair. Possibly the most sensible one of the group, although that’s not saying much. Was eventually in my wedding party years later.
Flounder – bigger than a sumo wrestler, flounder was a former chapter president and world champion shit disturber. Also the only person I have ever met to successfully complete the 4 liter milk jug challenge.
Code Red – was considered the most likeable one of the group. Alternated between flat hair and an awesome attention getting mohawk.
May 19, 2004 – Good kids class
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English, Team Awesome Sauce on May 19, 2014
With the impending arrival of my friends I decided to use my time before work in order to get prepared. Unfortunately, sleeping in extra late is not the best way to be productive. After I finally woke up I rushed to do a bunch of laundry and tidy up various messes in my room. Just before I started writing this blog entry I looked up train times to get to Narita airport for the pickup.
I have a regular group kids class on Wednesday now that is actually really good (unlike my Friday class). I like the kids and they actually seem to like me as well. At the end of our lesson I wrote on the whiteboard that I was going on vacation for 2 weeks, and then somehow managed to explain it to them. They all looked sad and actually lined up to shake my hand on the way out. Sometimes being a teacher can be pretty cool! These kids are not getting any homework when I am back to work.
May 17, 2004 – Working Visa!
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on May 17, 2014
Today I finally, officially received my full working Visa! My switch to full time should be done by June 1st!
My 28 lesson week will soon become a 40 lesson week. My income will be growing accordingly as well. Good times!
May 16, 2004 – Free games
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on May 16, 2014
I love days off. I slept in, cleaned my room, played video games, rented some movies, made plans for the visitors, and got 2 new games from the dozo table. Life is good.
(2014 Update) The free games were K-1 kickboxing games for Playstation 1. At the time, K-1 was one of the biggest combat sports promotions in Japan. They regularly held kickboxing tournaments that were shown on prime time TV. The fights were all striking with no submissions, and lasted up to 3 x 3 minute rounds. Around 2004 they boasted an impressive 80% knockout rate. You would think that these would be all the ingredients needed for a good video game, but somehow the games sucked. At least they were free!
Sakura 2014
Posted by Barniferous in Uncategorized on May 15, 2014
Awesome cherry blossom pictures on tokyo5.wordpress.com – check it out!
Here are some of the photos my wife, kids and I took at 花見 (cherry blossom viewing) we went to yesterday.
We went to a small park, 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine), and 千鳥ヶ淵 (Chidorigafuchi) near the 日本武道館 (Nippon Budokan).
The world-famous 日本武道館 (Nippon Budokan).
The torii entrance to the 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine). We ate “okonomiyaki” for lunch from one of these ‘yatai’ (traditional Japanese food booths).
The 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine).
This old sakura tree in Yasukuni Shrine is the official tree that determines the start of “Sakura season” for Tokyo. When five flowers bloom on this tree, it’s announced that the season has begun.
千鳥ヶ淵 (Chidorigafuchi) near the Budokan.
May 15, 2004 – Free lesson
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on May 15, 2014
I actually got a free lesson today (no students showed up), which is EXTREMELY rare for a Saturday at Kawasaki NOVA. This helped make for a better than average Saturday at work. Only 3 more working days until DU Invasion!
May 14, 2004 – The worst word I know
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Life in Japan, Shenanigans, Tokyo on May 14, 2014
Tonight I went to Hobgoblin pub in Shibuya. It is a pretty cool pub with a wide selection of food and drink. Everything is bilingual so it is popular among foreigners.
During the evening I was talking to different people in the crowd. An attractive young Japanese woman started talking to me in English. Let’s call her Keiko for the sake of the story. Keiko and I were discussing studying languages and noticed that usually the first words people want to learn in a new language are the “bad” words. She had an impressive knowledge of English curse words. I told her that I knew a few good ones in Japanese as well. She asked me to tell her the worst word I knew in Japanese.
Some time prior to this, The Penpal and I had the “what are the bad words in your language” conversation. We went through the usual ones, and then she taught me an absolute shocker. This particular word is not commonly heard anywhere, and is extremely rude.
I told Keiko that I knew a really, really bad word, but didn’t want to tell her what it was. This made her more curious. I tried to back out and tell her that she would likely be offended by the word. Keiko assured me that she wouldn’t be offended. I tried to change the subject. This make Keiko even more determined, and insisted that I tell her the word.
At this point I thought “why not”, leaned in and said the word into her ear. She instantly looked shocked, not just regular shocked, but shocked like someone had just slapped her grandmother.
“WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT WORD!?” she asked incredulously. I told her that a Japanese friend had taught me the word. She still couldn’t believe that I had the nerve to say the word, and found the next excuse to leave the conversation.
To all of the travelers and language exchangers out there: when someone asks you to say the worst word you know in their language, don’t. Also, if you insist that someone tell you the worst word they know, don’t be shocked when it is worse than you expected.
No, I will not tell you what word it was. I learned my lesson already!
(almost complete rewrite of original post to add more detail)
May 12, 2004 – Discount beef jerky
Posted by Barniferous in Hello House, Life in Japan, Movies on May 12, 2014
One of the other Hello House residents and I were bored, so we went out to rent a movie. A coin toss got us the surprisingly good “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”.
Discount beef jerky is never a good idea.
May 10, 2004 – The Passion of the Bootleg
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Movies on May 10, 2014
When you live in Japan, it is very cheap and convenient to travel to other countries in Asia. Several residents of Hello House have been going to other countries, and usually they end up bringing back bootleg DVDs. For those unfamiliar, bootleg DVDs are cheap copies of movies (typically about $1 each). No money goes to the original movie creator, and the quality can range from fantastic to virtually unwatchable. It is also possible to find bootlegs in Japan, but usually they are sold by a shady looking gaijin on a street corner. They are much easier to find in other countries.
Today I borrowed and watched a bootleg of “The Passion of the Christ”. The box artwork looked fantastic, except for the critic quotes on the back. One of them proclaimed that The Passion was “hilarious”, which is not an adjective usually used to describe this movie. When I put the DVD in, I got professional quality menus. However, the movie itself was obviously recorded on a hand held video camera in a busy movie theatre. Watching Jesus get beat up for two hours is not terribly pleasant, but it becomes a bit surreal when you can hear people coughing in the movie theatre and the person next to the bootlegger keeps getting up for snacks and a bathroom break.
(2014 Update) I have found a few stores in Canada that sell bootleg DVDs and Blu-Rays, usually in Asian markets in major cities. First of all – don’t buy bootlegs. But if you do, buy from a place that lets you watch a few minutes of the DVD to check the quality first.
Drinking in Japan 
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