Archive for category Visitors
January 9, 2006 part 1 – Second hand fraternity shirts and pachinko
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Visitors on January 13, 2016
Disclaimer: UPS is the nickname of one of my friends visiting Japan. This post has nothing to do with United Parcel Service.
My friend UPS was visiting from Canada. After spending the day in Tokyo yesterday and planning on spending tomorrow in Tokyo and are, we decided to stay around Numazu today.
We walked from my apartment towards Numazu station. Our first stop was a used clothing store, where we were surprised to find several fraternity T-shirts and hoodies. I met UPS when I joined Delta Upsilon fraternity in 2002, and we were taught that wearing clothing with our fraternity letters was a privilege and a responsibility. For us it was strange to see that other groups lettered shirts, which would have been so valuable to us, had ended up in a used clothing store half way around the world. We bought as many as we could find as a gift for our fellow DUs.
We worked our way over to the Nakamise shopping area, which is also the home to my NOVA branch. Just down the street from NOVA is a giant pachinko parlour. UPS wanted to experience as much of Japanese culture as possible during his 4 day trip, so we walked in to play some pachinko.
I have only played pachinko once or twice before. I never really knew what was going on, but I did enjoy the noisy, flashy environment inside the pachinko parlour; once you pass through the doors it’s total sensory overload. We sat down at side by side machines, put in our money, and then used the lever to shoot little metal balls through the board towards a little hole. A nearby Japanese man tried to give us some pointers on how to use the machine. It didn’t help me, but UPS seemed to do a little better.
Gambling for money is largely illegal in Japan. The loophole with pachinko is that you win more metal balls which you exchange for a prize. You can then sell your prize for money in a nearby prize exchange booth.
UPS decided to cash in his metal balls, and found he had enough for an energy drink. He decided that instead of exchanging the energy drink for a small amount of money that he would just drink it instead. Re-energized, we went to find a place for lunch while discussing what kind of mischief might be possible with a bunch of fraternity t-shirts.
January 8, 2006 part 4 – Hanging out in Harajuku
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal, Tokyo, Visitors on January 12, 2016
Disclaimer: UPS is the nickname of one of my friends visiting Japan. This post has nothing to do with United Parcel Service.
After spending the afternoon in Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi park, The Penpal, UPS, and I decided to walk across the street and explore the high fashion district of Harajuku.
Harajuku is filled with trendy stores selling all kinds of expensive fashionable clothing. It’s also possible to find sensibly priced but still fashionable clothing as well if you look around a bit harder. We took our time walking through the busy side streets, checking out some of the displays and small stores. We also took dorky looking pictures with crazy hats.
A full day of walking around had us hungry, so we decided to stop in at a kaiten sushi restaurant across from Harajuku station. UPS had eaten kaiten sushi before in Winnipeg, at a small chain called “Sushi Train”. Instead of a conveyor belt, there was a small electric train that drove around with sushi on it. There are lots of options for sushi in North America, but most of the menu is rolls. In Japan, sushi is dominated by nigiri sushi, which are the traditional looking pieces of fish on a lump of rice. UPS is an adventurous guy who was about to start a 4 month tour of Asia, so he had no problem trying out fish that was not familiar to him.
After stuffing ourselves to the point of pain, we started working our way across the street to Harajuku station. The station area was completely packed, and we had to shuffle our way through the crowds to get to the platform. We took the Yamanote line back to Shinagawa and then took the shinkansen towards Mishima.
Our car in the shinkansen was mostly empty, which is a bit unusual. We were discussing some of the interesting things about Japanese life, and the subject of hostess bars came up. UPS was interested to learn that there was also something called a host club, which was the same idea but with sexy, outgoing men treating female customers like queens (for money of course). UPS asked more questions, and ended up getting The Penpal to teach him some Japanese that he might need to flirt and drink with customers. It was hilarious.
We parted ways with The Penpal in Mishima, then UPS and I continued to Numazu. I was tired after a full day of exploring Tokyo, but UPS, who never seems to run out of energy, wanted to make the best use of his time in Japan. Instead of going home, we went out for drinks with some other English teachers at Speak EZ, the English school and bar in Numazu. After a few drinks even UPS was ready for sleep. It was a long day but a lot of fun!
January 8, 2006 part 3 – Rap Attack in Yoyogi Park!!
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal, Tokyo, Visitors on January 11, 2016
Disclaimer: UPS is the nickname of one of my friends visiting Japan. This post has nothing to do with United Parcel Service.
My friend UPS, my girlfriend The Penpal and I had just visited the spectacular Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Upon exiting the shrine, we did a quick tour around Yoyogi Park, which is always lively on a Sunday. We saw people playing instruments, actors with kendo sticks practicing fight choreography, people flying kites, and even the famous rockabilly guys who dance near the entrance, although fewer than usual due to the brisk temperatures.
We also encountered a group of young men with a microphone and a speaker who were freestyle rapping for the crowd. Rap is not as popular in Japan as most other types of music, and as a sweeping generalization, Japanese rap is generally not very good. I am not blaming the MCs, it’s the language itself that makes rapping challenging. (Author’s note, French is actually a fantastic language for rap)
UPS decided to record the unique sight of freestyle rappers in Japan with his camera. The lead rapper apparently did not like this, turned his attention to UPS, and then started spitting some derogatory freestyle disses in Japanese.
Yes, my friend got rap attacked at Yoyogi park. No, I never thought I would type that particular sentence.
It took us a few minutes to process what had just happened. Since none of us had ever been rap attacked before, we didn’t know how to respond. If this was a movie and UPS was able to speak Japanese, I assume he would have thrown down an impromptu battle rap session right there in the park. However we just ended up walking towards Harajuku laughing about the experience and wondering what was going to happen next.
January 8, 2006 part 2 – Meiji Shrine
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal, Visitors on January 10, 2016
Disclaimer: UPS is the nickname of one of my friends visiting Japan. This post has nothing to do with United Parcel Service.
After doing some sightseeing in Shinjuku with The Penpal and my friend UPS, we went back to Shinjuku station and took a quick ride on Yamanote line towards Meiji Shrine.
Walking towards the Shrine on a Sunday is always fun because of all of the cosplayers. UPS was surprised to see all of the elaborate costumes, even on a chilly day. We spent some time looking at the costumes, then proceeded to the shrine itself. Like most of the visitors, UPS got a picture taken with some of the cosplayers. He also took the time to get a picture with a nearby security guard who was directing traffic near the busy shrine.
Meiji Shrine should be on everyone’s must visit list if you are in Tokyo, even for a short time. The forest around the shrine is lush and spectacular, and features trees from all over Japan. The shrine itself is a series of sprawling wooden buildings, lovingly restored in the 50s after being completely destroyed during World War II. It was still close to New Year, so the shrine was busier than usual, although thankfully not as crazy as it would have been a week ago. UPS wanted to take in everything, and the Penpal was happy to explain the different parts of the shrine and their significance.
The Penpal showing UPS how to wash his hands at the shrine
As we were preparing to leave the shrine, we noticed a female high school sports team, all in their warm up uniforms, entering the shrine together. UPS thought this was a great opportunity for a picture, and walked up and asked if they would mind getting a picture with him. In summer 2004 I had some other fraternity friends show up in Japan, and it was generally a struggle to get them to talk to Japanese people. UPS had no such issues, and managed to get a hilarious picture (which will not be included here).
Even though I had been to Meiji Shrine several times before, it was still a great experience to see a large space in one of the busiest, most modern cities in the world set aside to remember it’s past. UPS enjoyed the experience, and The Penpal enjoyed sharing her culture with one of my friends.
Next up: return to Yoyogi park.
January 8, 2006 part 1 – Adventures in Shinjuku
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal, Visitors on January 9, 2016
Disclaimer: UPS is the nickname of one of my friends visiting Japan. This post has nothing to do with United Parcel Service.
UPS and I got up early in the morning, and met The Penpal at Mishima station in order to go to Tokyo for the day. I love having a chance to introduce my girlfriend to friends from home. I was hoping to get a chance to do that on a large scale over the Christmas holidays, but she was unable to get the time to travel to Canada.
I wasn’t worried at all about UPS meeting The Penpal. He is one of those friendly people who can have a conversation with anyone. We took the shinkansen from Mishima to Shinagawa, talking the whole way. By the end of our hour long trip, The Penpal and UPS were talking like old friends.
Our first stop of the day was Shinjuku. It’s always impressive to show off the tall buildings around Shinjuku station. Today was Sunday, so we got a chance to look at the buildings without the usual mobs of people crowding us. It was almost a bit spooky to see how empty the streets were. We walked in the direction of the Tokyo Metro Government Building, making sure to pass through the NS building to see the world’s largest water clock. I filled UPS in on my adventures coming to this building two years ago for NOVA new employee orientation. Even though it had only been 2 years, it felt like a whole lifetime ago.
As we left the NS building and continued towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, we saw a strange sight; a small ramen stand in the middle of an empty courtyard surrounded by people. As we got closer, we noticed TV cameras, and standing in line for ramen was comedian Hard Gay. They were filming something for one of his TV appearances.
As someone who has lived in Japan for over 2 years, I am now used to the idea of a muscular, leather clad comedian named “Hard Gay”. It took some explaining to get UPS to understand what he was looking at, and I promised to show him some Youtube videos later. UPS took out his camera to capture the moment, but one of the producers came over and asked politely in Japanese not to take pictures. I translated for UPS and he put his camera away, although in retrospect this would have been a good opportunity to forget Japanese and get a picture of Hard Gay in action.
We eventually got to the Metro Government building, and went to the observation level, located 202 meters above street level. We spent about an hour taking looking at the never ending sprawl of the Greater Tokyo area in every direction. We also got a picture with the cute mascot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (TOEI). I don’t know why every business and government department in Japan feels the need to have a cute mascot, but maybe that’s because I am Canadian.
We could have spent a lot more time in Shinjuku, but had to keep moving to take advantage of UPS’s short time in Japan. Next stop: Meiji Shrine.
January 7, 2006 – Welcome UPS!
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Visitors on January 8, 2016
Disclaimer: UPS is a nickname for my friend. This post is in no way associated with United Parcel Service.
After correctly considering the effects of the international date line, my friend UPS was scheduled to arrive in Japan today for a short visit. I took the local train (the cheapest option) from Numazu to Narita airport. The last time I picked up friends or family from the airport, I lived in Kawasaki, which was a lot closer. The trip from Numazu took me almost 4 hours!
I got to the airport early, which was fortunate because UPS’s flight arrived an hour early. This must be an absolute first in aviation history. UPS greeted me at the airport with a case of Moosehead beer! The last time I had Moosehead is when a group of friends visited in 2004 and we drank some very expensive imported Moosehead in Tokyo. Visitors to Japan: drink local beer, it’s way cheaper.
We took the Narita Express from the airport to Tokyo station, the shinkansen from Tokyo to Mishima, and then the Tokaido line from Mishima to Numazu. This trip took only 2 hours, but it seemed faster as UPS and I spent the time catching up on news from home and discussing our plans for his 4 days in Japan. For only a few days, we have a pretty packed agenda! I also learned that it’s pretty much impossible to talk about recent movies with someone from Canada, because most of the big movies come to Japan several months after they are released in North America. I was behind on everything.
We dropped off UPS’s luggage at my apartment, he had a quick shower, and we went out to an izakaya with some of my coworkers. UPS is one of the most outgoing and fun people I know, so he instantly got along with the English teachers. After we got home, we watched some videos that the fraternity guys from Canada recorded for me during their annual Christmas bottle exchange. It’s good to see that nothing changes there.
It’s going to be a fun 4 days!
January 6, 2006 – Forgot about the international date line
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Visitors on January 7, 2016
My friend UPS was supposed to be arriving in Japan today. However, in all of our conversations about arrival date, I realized that we forgot to think about the international date line; his flight will actually be arriving tomorrow.
I met UPS when I joined Delta Upsilon Fraternity. His father is from India and his mother is from Vietnam, but they met and got married in Canada. UPS sounds and acts Canadian, but likes to describe himself (accurately) as a brown guy. The nickname UPS comes from the courier company’s tagline “what can brown do for you?”, which I believe UPS has used a few times a pick-up line.
He just recently graduated from University, and decided to take a 6 month tour of Asia, including his parents countries, but also Cambodia and Laos. I told him that if he was on my side of the planet that he should stop by Japan for a few days. He called his travel agent, made changes, and will be spending 4 days in Japan. It’s going to be a lot of fun!
I ended up using my day off to clean up the apartment and my room, and to be very lazy.
April 4, 2005 – Happy Birthday to my Sister!
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Visitors on April 4, 2015
Happy 25 to my sister! Check out some highlights of her adventures in Japan from last summer here:
July 8, 2004 – The family leaves
Posted by Barniferous in Tokyo, Visitors on August 9, 2014
Today I took my family to Narita Airport and sent them back to Canada. It was sad to see them go. I have been lucky to host two different groups of visitors in the past few months, and now I will have to return to my regular life of teaching English.
A big thank you to my family for taking the time and expense to come and see me!
(2014 Update) Before visiting me in Japan, my parents idea of international travel was driving to the USA. In the 10 years since they flew around the world to visit me in Japan, they have been to Bosnia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Israel, and Jamaica with plans for more travel in the future. They also returned to Japan in 2006, but that’s a story for a later date. I’m not taking all the credit for their jet setting ways, but I think I helped.
July 7, 2004 pt2 – Gyukaku!
Posted by Barniferous in Greater Tokyo Area, Visitors on August 9, 2014
For my family’s last dinner in Japan before returning to Canada, we decided to try a yakiniku chain called Gyu-Kaku. This post is going to read a lot like an advertisement, but I don’t care. Gyu-Kaku is AWESOME.
The closest Gyu-Kaku to Hello House is just north of Mukogaokayuen station, a convenient 5-10 minute walk from Hello House. When we got inside, we instantly smelled delicious meat. The staff literally screamed “irrashaimase” at us. Gyu-Kaku is a yakiniku restaurant, which literally translates to “grilled meat”. All of the tables have a small grill in the middle. The menu, which is also available in English, showed all of the different types and cuts of meat that were available, along with salads and some other uninteresting non meat items.
We placed our first order and received small plates of sliced meat. We all took turns cooking the meat at the table using the tongs, and then dipping the cooked meat into small bowls of sauce at the table. I had eaten yakiniku once before, but this was the first time for my parents and sister. We all loved it! We ordered different types of beef, chicken, pork, and even scallops, and they were all delicious. The only thing that other people were afraid to try was the beef tongue (which was also delicious).
If you have never eaten yakiniku before – do it! It’s amazing! Gyu-Kaku is fairly easy to find and with the English menus it is foreigner friendly.
Yakiniku was a fun choice for my family’s last night in Japan. We all got to try something new, and we talked about our favourite memories of the past week and a half. Since I was trying to extend my time in Japan, this would likely be my last family meal until Christmas. I am happy it was a good one!
(2014 Update) I still try to go to Gyu-Kaku every time I return to Japan. Yum!
Drinking in Japan 
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