Flying to Japan is easy. You just take 15mg THC, 6mg melatonin, and 600mg gabapentin, and by the time you wake up from your coma, it’s a regular four-hour flight. At that point I played some Return to Monkey Island, read some Excession by Iain M. Banks (and my god I have not had this much fun with a space opera in a while), disposed of the contraband, and deplaned. I was momentarily detained at customs but only because the agent’s visa printer broke. Now it’s our first full day, which as I recall is the most painful, so, that will be fun.
I haven’t had a vacation in a while, so I am super excited to be here. At the risk of sounding like too much of a hopeless weeb–I’ve traveled a lot, I’ve been around, I know where my favorite place is, so why bother going anywhere other than my favorite country? So here I am. I actually started learning Japanese, too, so I can kinda sorta read the most important stuff; I’m roughly as literate as a six-year-old, though my production is a long way off.
We have a very empty itinerary. Just the usual suspects–Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo again. Super open to suggestions if anybody has any! It’s my fourth time, so I’ve done some of the Obvious Stuff, but there’s so much that I can safely say there’s lots more Obvious Stuff to do. My list is mostly shopping, and hiking (Takaosan, open to more ideas). I want to get a non-export model Seiko, some more jeans, Tears of the Kingdom, a bunch of the amazing Biore Aqua Rich sunscreen that AOC is obsessed with, whimsical cat collars, a yukata for my mom, some whiskey for my dad, and a bag to put it all in. The exchange rate is crazy in our favor (~¥130/$1) so this is gonna be great.
On the home front, the landscapers finally installed our front landscaping, so our contract with the builder is now complete. We have a two-story elm tree, a nice maple, a flowering pear, and a bunch of shrubs. Still need to set up the side yard, so I’ll just have to do that when I get back. I will be sure to write up all my misadventures–and if anybody has advice for planting in Denver, we have everything from scorching full sun to mostly full shade to deal with. Gardeners have recommended Japanese maples, Arborvitae, Japanese rose, mountain laurel, hydrangeas, Japanese yew… I swear all the Japanese varieties were recommended unprompted… still need some ground cover and vegetables.
Oh, Samwise needed a couple teeth out, the poor guy (resorption), but he’s doing a lot better now. He’d been pretty timid and cranky, which I’d chalked up to the move, so it’s good that I had him in for a dental cleaning. Thank god insurance covered it–cat dentistry costs almost as much as human dentistry, wow! They’re both doing great and even get along sometimes.
It feels silly to say this what with how objectively good my life is but it feels like things have really come together. I’ve had a fair bit of latent anxiety for the last year and a half but it seems to have abated. Which is good, because I have a lot of work to do! I’m angling for a promotion and my friend and I are buckling down on the video game we’re making. It’s a point-and-click adventure/dating sim set in the Lovecraft universe. You play as a student at Miskatonic University who is surrounded by assorted demigods and madmen and monsters; you have to solve a mystery and (optionally) fall in love. We just contracted with an artist for characters and backgrounds, so it really is happening. Hopefully. We’ll need a bit of scratch to actually afford all the art, so look out for a crowdfunder later this year, if I may be so bold.
So yeah! Vacation time. I’ll be sure to send some postcards from the road.
Medium Cool – Agatha Christie & Dorothy Sayers, Part VI
Baud
Very cool. I’ve wanted to do a long vacation to Japan one day. Haven’t gotten around to it.
Baud
Thanks, Biden!
Urza
Are the primal horrors possible objects of your love?
Be interested to see your vacation pics. And if you have any issues setting up on a local sim card. Whats their internet speeds up to these days? Was already 100MB in 2004 so I bet they’re still doing better than anything we’ve got, in Tokyo at least.
Jerzy Russian
Also on the agenda: going to public places without worrying about getting shot. As a bonus: having a high probability of getting there without having to own or rent a car.
Elizabelle
Sounds wonderful. Enjoy!
burnt
My cousin, who lived in Japan for more than 15 years, was rather fond of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanin_Kaigan_National_Park
but it looks like the closest you will be is Kyoto. I love me some Iain M. Banks and Iain Banks but especially Iain M. Banks. It’s hard to believe he has been gone nearly 10 years. Honestly, I can’t choose a favorite space opera of his. I love them all.
catfishncod
Excession is my favorite of Banks’ Culture cycle; it knocks over all those Minds’ great pretensions and manipulations-of-the-moment and shows that for all their powers, they too are mortals capable of the same foolish sins.
And if I had to pick one GSV to hang out with, it would be the Sleeper Service. Pity ve probably wouldn’t agree.
Major Major Major Major
@Urza:
Of course!
We have LTE on our SIM cards so a little behind.
eclare
I have no idea what that breakfast is, but I bet it was tasty! Have a great time.
Glad life is feeling more settled for you.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
I know I just ate dinner, but that breakfast has my mouth watering! Have a wonderful vacation! I’m sure the kitties are being little angels at home (heheh).
ColoradoGuy
The West Coast of Japan is pretty special. Much less developed and very scenic, with lots of little temples here and there.
Ken
I could see Nyarlathotep, in “black Pharaoh” guise, in that role, with the human all unawares. It would end in tears, I assume.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
Credit where credit is due.
Major Major Major Major
@Ken: to be clear, your classmates are their half-mortal children!
@eclare: it’s eighteen various things, half pickled, very monastic, in honor of some vow I’ll have to translate later. https://tsukijihongwanji.jp/etc/about_18hin/phone/index.html
Another Scott
Enjoy!
I was last in Japan (Nara) for a conference in May 2019. Got a nasty case of Influenza A about a day or two before I left. I thought it was just a bad cold, so I missed the chance to take Tamiflu when I got back. :-/
It’s great to have discovered the place you like the best. We’re still looking around. ;-)
I’m not a fan of those, myself. Too prickly, and they either grow into giants or die for some unknown reason here in NoVA. Is anything native appropriate to the space?.
Good luck and have a great time!
Cheers,
Scott.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Sounds like a ton of fun! I’ve always wanted to visit Japan at least once in my life
Be sure to take a wrist-shot of your new JDM Seiko to show us : )
Are you in the market for quartz or mechanical?
That video game idea sounds interesting. I’d like to see how it’s executed
Major Major Major Major
@Another Scott: the side yard is fairly narrow so we have to be really conservative about root spread, and also the narrow sunshine window limits our options a lot too. Native stuff out front though.
SpaceUnit
If I were to visit Tokyo I’d make it a point to visit an owl cafe.
Japanese Owl Cafe
Major Major Major Major
@SpaceUnit: I’m not sold on those, I hear it’s not very pleasant for the owls.
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I like automatic watches. And I’ll put you down for a kickstarter contribution 😉
Anne Laurie
I’m sure it was delicious (mostly), but I’m afraid ’17 types of pickle for breakfast’ caused an instant flashback to Bruce Jay Friedman’s Lonely Guy’s Guide to Life (from memory):
Chacal Charles Calthrop
I’d recommend the Kiyo mizu dera shrine in Kyoto and Saihoji garden outside of Kyoto.
But I’m sure those are established tourist attractions.
Send the blog pics!
Major Major Major Major
@Anne Laurie: lol!
so only half of the things were pickled, my bad on the ambiguity. Still a lot.
frosty
@Another Scott: Seconded on the arbor vitae. Our landscaper 15 years ago didn’t listen to us and planted these. We’re getting them taken out in a month or so. Big (too big) and not attractive at all.
different-church-lady
Jezus, at that point they could just check you as luggage.
eversor
On the Seikos be aware that a good Seiko costs more than a damn Rolex. It’s also better made than a Rolex. But you’re going to be in for 10k+ USD and it can only be repaired in Japan when you need it to be.
If you can find it, and they will sell it, the Grand Seiko Spring Drive Snowflake can be had for even down to 4k if you get the cheaper one is arguably the best watch out there.
Urza
@Major Major Major Major: I’d like to go back, but it was barely sized for me years ago, should lose a few pounds first.
Thinking of switching my phone to a Pixel Fold when it comes out, and the other Pixels have only had virtual sim cards that i’m not sure how they work internationally. Possible reason not to switch right away if it affects travel.
different-church-lady
@SpaceUnit: Well, that’s it for me: I don’t care what naturalists or scientists say, owls and cats are now the same thing.
Major Major Major Major
@different-church-lady: I woke up at one point and was very glad I didn’t have to move lol
@frosty: there’s only one species we have our eye on, which doesn’t have that problem, but I am still skeptical yeah
@eversor: oh I’m just gonna get one of the normal non export models.
BruceFromOhio
If I could do this every time I encountered a commercial aircraft, I’d probably travel more.
Marc
Oddly enough, we’re heading towards Japan tomorrow, although we’ll be stopping in Hong Kong for a few days first (first visit for me). We’ve also been to Japan several times, we have friends in Osaka so we tend to spend more time there. After that we’re off to some places we’ve not yet been, Shikoku (staying in Kotohira), Nikko (with a night in Tokyo along the way), Kanazawa, Takayama, then back to Osaka for a few more days.
Nikko can be a day trip from Tokyo, with with a national park and a bunch of Shinto and Buddhist shrines. There’s the Aoi Matsuri festival in Kyoto on 5/15, if you’re in the Kyoto/Osaka area. We also have tickets to see the Hanshin Tigers play the Yomiuri Giants at Koshien Stadium 5/28, which is always a spectacle (some unsecured Colonel Sanders statue will likely end up in Osaka’s Dotonburi canal). Mostly we’ll be wandering about using our rail passes, renting bikes, and enjoying the scenery.
dm
Nara is worth the trip from Kyoto if you haven’t been.
If you have been to Nara, then check out the Byodo-in in Uji, instead. An expat couple I met at my hotel recommended I check it out, and I thought it was well worth the half day trip from Kyoto. The next time I go, I’ll cross the river and climb the rise (hill?).
Yudofu in Arashiyama, plus the bamboo forest, plus, if you can find it, the preserved house where Basho stayed for a few months. His sandals are still waiting on the door step.
Major Major Major Major
@BruceFromOhio: would not recommend for flights under eight hours!
SpaceUnit
@Major Major Major Major:
My understanding is that some cafes are quite attentive to the needs of their birds and actually allow them to move and fly around as they please, avoiding contact with people if they aren’t in the mood. I guess you have to do your homework.
But obviously I don’t really know. I just stumbled across the concept on YouTube.
BruceFromOhio
@Marc:
That sounds wonderful, I hope you enjoy all the moments, and that there are many.
Kelly
This inspired me to check the expiration date on my passport since it’s trivial to get a new passport before the old one expires. 2025 so I’m OK for now.
Snarki, child of Loki
Ninja museum. Hard to get to, but worth it. It’s in Iga-city in the hilly area between Kyoto and Osaka, so you have to take a couple of little trains to get there. What, you thought ninjas would be easy to find?
Great gift shop, with more varieties of shuriken and other things you can’t bring on a plane than you can find anywhere.
SpaceUnit
@different-church-lady:
I understand that the two species will occasionally join together for maritime adventures.
dm
Walking the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto is a pleasant way to spend a morning. At the southern end there was an informal cat park. One of those neighborhood surprises.
Anne Laurie
@Major Major Major Major: I’m actually quite fond of both liverwurst and clamato, although not usually for breakfast, at least in combination.
One big reason I’ll probably never visit Japan, however, is that I *loathe* most seafood, probably because my dad was a big fan and forced too many weird varieties on us when I was very young. I can’t even eat nori — too fishy. So I’d be picking suspiciously at every meal, sustaining myself on rice and… pickles!
(For some reason, clam products, fresh mussels, and real scallops escape my gag reflex. I’ve saved a few fellow piscaphobes’ evenings at fish-based company meals — Legal Seafoods being a Boston staple — by whispering ‘Stick with the scollops!’… )
eversor
@BruceFromOhio:
They sell pot gummies in any major city and the dogs can’t smell them. Hell here in DC (not that i would cause clearance, I totally would) one can go buy pot gummies, mushrooms, and DMT vapes at any number of shops.
Just don’t eat too many at once. Takes a bit to kick in. And if you eat a handful of them (one gummy is 15+ mgs of THC), then eat the mushrooms, and then vape the DMT you’re in for an odd METRO ride home. Either that or you’re going to hit up every taco truck on your walk home.
So it’s totally possible to get high off your ass and board a plane and say your DMT vape is actually nicotine and those are just normal gummy bears and then cross the Atlantic tripping your ass off high off your mind asking for more scotch and nobody will care. Not that I’d know anything about doing that… where are my peanuts and can I get a second dinner.
Major Major Major Major
@eversor: if you hit the DMT correctly you really shouldn’t stay standing very long…
NotMax
@<@Anne Laurie
Mmmm, Clamato.
Makes an awesome Bloody Mary Celeste (my name for it), with an added dash of Worcestershire sauce, natch. And if feeling especially spunky, a scant smidgen of celery seed, a few drops of juice from a jar of pickles and a sprinkling of black pepper stirred in as well.
Urza
@Snarki, child of Loki: Maybe the laws changed, but in 2004 I brought an unsharpened wakizashi back in my checked bag. I mean, yes they broke the security tape and checked it thoroughly but it got through. As good a quality as anything you’d find in America and it was only $35 at this underground mall. Anything you can buy should be unsharpened by law, and need to be kept wrapped while you’re carrying in public.
Frankly I’d be pissed off if we can have AR-15’s and not blunt blades in the 2nd Amendment.
Urza
@eversor: Hold up, gonna be near DC this week. Whats this about shrooms available in the shops? Always thought about trying them. Is there some indicator the shop has the good ones? I see Loudon County decriminalized at least.
NotMax
Slowly, tentatively creeping into the 21st century, spent a chunk of the afternoon learning how to cast from a phone or tablet onto the TV through the Roku and testing that it really does work.
Will come in handy on this August’s NY trip (step-nephew’s wedding late in that month) for showing stuff to Mom that she does not have ready access to.
Major Major Major Major
Thanks for the suggestions all!
NotMax
Know there’s commenters that live there. Any chance of a quickie meet-up?
BruceFromOhio
@eversor: This is exactly what inspires the wanderlust – stuff me in a seat or hell down with rest of the luggage, wake me up when we arrive. As M4 noted, a wheelchair and a handler would be great.
BruceFromOhio
@Anne Laurie: Legal Seafood is awesome!
kalakal
Sounds like a great trip.
If it was me I’d be angling for one of the up market Seiko spring drive Marinemasters – they are expensive.
The other money trap for me would be the second hand musical instrument shops. eg Shimokura, TC Gakki etc
I love vintage Tokai, Greco, Burny, Edwards etc etc guitars. I would be searching for a Tokai Springy Sound ST80 strat. If you buy them for export there’s no sales tax.
Have a great time!
Suzanne
As for the plants, I am no expert. The first year that we had our house here in PGH, I planted hydrangeas, knockout roses, an arborvitae, a butterfly bush, and a Japanese maple. All did great except for the butterfly bush, which did great for one year and then died. I pulled it out today and replaced it with a climbing rose, and also got a lilac bush. I like the way the lilac looks, better than the butterfly bush. The butterfly bush just had a bit of a disorganized look to it. I am told the lilac will also bring butterflies. It better perform!
I also bought a hybrid tea rose today. Mr. Suzanne says that I shouldn’t get any more, otherwise we would have “too many roses”. I do not understand WTF he is talking about.
eversor
@Anne Laurie:
It’s not all seafood. Their beef is crazy expensive but it’s world famous and better than what you get here. They also consume a ton of pork products.
The most common foods there are ramen, which is pork broth based (tonkatsu broth) and served with pork. Curry, which is a fried pork cutlet smothered in broth. The most common grilled skewers are chicken. The dish to have is just plain cold buckwheat noodles. None of this has any seafood in it.
Americans think the Japanese live off sushi, but that’s just a portion of the diet. You can spend an entire life there and not eat any of that.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Four is enough.
;)
Dallas Taylor
Just here to ditto the love for Iain M Banks and particularly Excession, which might be the funnest of the Culture novels.
Suzanne
@NotMax: I have that, too.
Too many roses?! That’s like saying there’s too many colors.
NotMax
@Suzanne
There is no brown (20 minute watch).
;)
Another Scott
@Urza: Google Fi was great for me in Japan in 2019. “It just worked”. I didn’t have to do anything. I haven’t checked their international policies recently though.
Cheers,
Scott.
kalakal
@catfishncod:
I love the names The Minds choose for their ships
Culture Spacecraft
StringOnAStick
@Another Scott: I second the NO on arborvitae except maybe the low growing groundcover mimic, Prince of Wales. Sure, they are cheap and grow fast but they get ugly fast and when you prune them, the exposed dead stuff stays like that (plus years of too much exposure to them means they give me ER visit level dermatitis). A better choice is Oregon grape, also known as grape mahonia. It does spread a little by roots but it blooms in the spring, makes purple berries for birds, looks like holly and is evergreen. You can chop off wandering roots to keep it contained and it’s not aggressive about it; it’s also not a water hog.
Ixnay in the Japanese maple in your area unless you have an area well protected from winds, but you live in Denver so probably not. They are barely able to survive in your area, it gets a bit too cold, especially the cold winter winds. They need reliable and significant moisture as well.
Go to the Denver Botanic Gardens with a notebook and camera; lots of excellent information there and you can see the full sized items. They have a water saving section too and Denver was in the forefront of pushing water wise landscaping. You can get a Japanese garden look in Denver, but it needs to be with non-traditional landscape plants than what you’d see in a Japanese garden. Denver is a somewhat difficult landscaping region with crappy clay soil that needs a lot of organic matter added to improve it.
Marc
If you are in the west part of Honshu (Osaka, Hiroshima, …) absolutely do not miss okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancakes with stuff). We were introduced to it during our first visit to Japan 15 years ago, and it’s become a family favorite. My wife makes it at home periodically. There’s also yakiniku, beef or odd chicken parts grilled over charcoal at the table, a derivative of Korean BBQ, very popular in Osaka and Tokyo. Our daughter’s favorite, going back to her high school year in Osaka. And, of course, ramen, cheap, quick, and good, usually purchased by getting a ticket from a vending machine at the door and handing it off to the cook. We basically eat our way around Japan.
eversor
@Marc:
We now have Japanese curry in the US and real tonkatsu ramen. Both are going to run you about 20 bucks. But it’s a massive dose of food and really one is good for two. At least at my age. The SO likes the salt ramen, but she’s finicky about these things. Kinda odd as she will wolf down cripy pork fat and beef bone marrow but she wont eat the bone marrow broth ramen. Not that the salt broth is bad, but you know, the tonkatsu is better.
We own a little grill thing, it’s smaller than most plates, and we do little grillings inside. It’s great, that smokeless charcoal does cost a bit though.
Also have the shishito peppers, thank me later. Japan is not seafood, if that’s what you got you did it wrong.
NotMax
@eversor
Remembering a segment on a Japanese program showing what fishermen eat. Half dozen or so of them squatting around a large pot over an open fire with simmering liquid into which they’re tossing the squid and octopus guts and offal removed from that day’s catch.
English subtitles had them enthusiastically claiming “This is the finest meal in the whole of Japan!”
Then there was an episode showcasing the specialty of a particular inn — for all intents and purposes squid innards lutefisk scooped out from an earthenware pot which had been buried for months.
And don’t get me started on the upscale restaurant which served planks of bear paw sashimi.
Marc
We live in Oakland, I can get authentic Japanese curry, yakisoba, and ramen makings at our local Japanese supermarket (and Safeway), so I often cook it myself. A few of the Japanese chain restaurants have made their way over here. Oddly, many of the “Japanese” sushi restaurants here are run by Koreans, and our local ramen restaurant is owned by a couple from Myanmar. “Real” Japanese food on this side of the Bay is at the high end of the market, we have to head over to Japantown in San Francisco to get it for more moderate prices.
Ukai
I’m flying there Tuesday night for a two-week group tour. The kicker is that it’s a mystery itinerary; I know I’ll be flying into and out of Haneda Airport, but I don’t know yet what will transpire in between.
I went on a tour with the same organization last fall, so I’m pretty sure this won’t turn out like the Hostel movies.
meander
I’m a big fan of the NHK World network, so here are some things I have gathered from the channel but haven’t had a chance to visit yet:
A miso shop in Tokyo called Sana Miso that sells 50+ kinds of miso. They have a set meal every day where you get to choose the miso used on some of the dishes
A stationary shop with a nerdy pencil case in Ochahomizu, Tokyo (near Akihabara) called Yuruliku
Bongo, an onigiri shop in Tokyo
Cheer Counter, a rice restaurant in Roppongi
Myogadani, Tokyo — historic sweets shop, Ikkoan, uses yam called tsukune-imo
Food sample museum in Kappabashi
A foreigner-friendly print shop selling new ukiyo-e and old ones called Mokuhankan in Asakusa (the long-time-in-Japan Canadian owner David Bull has a great YouTube channel where talks about making prints, collecting prints, etc.)
currawong
Japan is definitely on my list to visit in the next 2 or 3 years.
One thing I want to do is stay in a ryokan, a triditional country inn. I’ve seen them on various videos and look like they’ll give you a taste of old Japan.
Major Major Major Major
@Marc:
A lot of Japanese people in the Bay Area just didn’t return after their release from the camps. They had their whole lives taken away, there was nothing for them…
Major Major Major Major
@StringOnAStick: we’re pretty much taking our cues from the experts at Etcher’s and City Floral, don’t worry.
Brett
One suggestion: recently I wandered around Enoshima and the parks on the bay near Zushi (Osaki Park, Hiroyama Park) – Enoshima is beautiful but a major tourist attraction of course, but the parks were not particularly crowded at least in December, and you have fantastic views of the water and Mt. Fuji at sunset. I also walked around Kamakura a bit which was nice, and would spend more time there when I go back to Japan. You could make a nice day of it by train from central Tokyo and maybe stop in Yokohama for a drink on the way back.
spiderink
if anybody has advice for planting in Denver, we have everything from scorching full sun to mostly full shade to deal with…
Might I suggest native plants? We need to help reverse the declining numbers of birds and other wildlife and the best thing to do is to plant native plants to support local wildlife of all stripes. Exotic plants to little to sustain local life. Look up drought-tolerant prairie plants like Echinacea, Rudbeckia, etc. and Colorado State University has a native plant guide: https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/gardening-resources/online-garden-publications/native-plants/.
Pharniel
Oh hell yes. I’m hoping you have a great time.
Congrats on the vacation.
Marc
That is part of it, of course, nonetheless Oakland and Berkeley still have a fairly sizeable (but aging) Japanese-American community. There were plenty of Japanese “Japanese” restaurants through the 90s. What apparently happened was that devotees of the Unification Church (really!) managed to corner the Bay Area market for sushi-grade fish back then and bought into the Japanese restaurant scene. Korean food just wasn’t all that popular with the local white folks in those days. Today, Korean restaurants are more popular here than Japanese restaurants. The workings of a multi-cultural area like this can get a bit odd.
Ryan
Excession was my favorite Banks novel.