July 2011
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“Apparently I’m doing what every other tourist secretly wants to…I...”
– My friend Abe, currently traveling alone through Italy. Talking with this guy is always a lesson in wit.
May 2011
10 posts
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Lost in Translation
(A little paraphrased from the actual conversation, but it went a little something like this...)
What I think I'm saying to my girlfriend in Japanese: [I do care for you and, from the day I met you, I haven't stopped caring for you. My heart and thoughts are heavy with recent events, so please try to understand. I will do the best I can, so please believe in me.]
Girlfriend, in English: ...(laughing) What? Sorry, that makes no sense. Say it in English, please.
.
.
.
(Japanese is hard; making heartfelt conversation is harder.)
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These Idle Kyoto Days
Thinking about how I imagined this summer would be a month ago, the inescapable fact of life on this Earth speaks to me from the back of my mind:
Everything is constantly changing, for better or for worse.
As I sit here in my single apartment (that would barely make “studio” status in the states), I think about how things turned out differently than I hoped for this month. Today is...
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Japan: An Egalitarian Society? →
A good friend of mine, Andrew, wrote this entry for his professor’s blog. I think this topic is extremely interesting and, in fact, its part of what my research in Japan is about now (the effect of SES [SocioEconomic Status] of students in a public school setting). Andrew is a brilliant writer and I believe this entry will alter your (possible) belief that all Japanese are the same.
...
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Resurfacing
Nine months later, I find myself on Tumblr again.
It has been quite a while since anything went up on this page (except for that little post about something in the works, namely this current entry). Also, I apologize to all those theater buffs I offended out there by associating that scene from the prologue to the wrong song. My sincerest apologies.
Last time I left you, I was traveling through...
September 2010
3 posts
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Samurai, Typhoons and Bears, OH MY! (A Day in...
There are few things more enjoyable in life than waking up late to the sound of soft rain beneath a warm down comforter. For me at least, anyway.
That was Saturday morning, waking up in my private room at Kuroyu onsen. The rain had started in the night and tapered off to a drizzle by morning. As such, the grounds were covered in mix of rain, mist and steam that swirled in the mountain air.
...
August 2010
48 posts
Why Japan Should Never Have Heard of Lady Gaga →
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Steaming Hot Springs, Ice Cold Watermelon and...
Friday the 13th: I was standing in front of Tazawa-ko station, waiting for the bus that would take me to the mountains.
Missed the first bus by 8 minutes, so the next one was 3 hours later. Yep, it was Friday the 13th, all right.
However, that was the extent of the bad luck I faced that day. Once the bus came and I was on my way, my anxiety and body temperature both cooled off. An hour...
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Watch[UPDATE: The last video got removed, but I found a 181 minute long video of some of the major shows in Day 2 of the concert, many of which I have already described (i.e. Kishidan, etc). Watch any or all if you want to see what Japanese rock music is all about (some of which you may not get at all, some of which I sure don’t). Skip to 10:43 for the song by 9mm Parabellum Bullet that I talk...
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Family, Clashing Cultures and a Son's...
This post is actually about a conversation I had with another man staying at my Sendai hostel.
On my last night at the hostel (before going to Hiraizumi the next morning), I stayed up till 1:00 AM writing my blog. Feeling almost ready for bed, I weaved between the chairs in the dark dining room where I was working towards the bright, buzzing florescent light of the vending machine, like a moth...
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Mountain Calderas and Microbrews: Lake Tazawa Area
August 12th was a pretty laid back day, enjoying the company of friends (who speak my native language) and sampling the good life around Tazawa-ko (Lake Tazawa) in Akita Prefecture.
After waking up late, Brenna and I started walking from our hostel towards Tazawa-ko. We both appreciated the cool mountain climate and the breeze blowing through the trees. High up in the mountains, we finally...
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Temples in High Places, Deep Lakes and Family...
Great days always start with great breakfasts!
I left Sendai and Matsushima behind me, moving ever onwards towards my ultimate northern destination, Hokkaido. My next stop in Tohoku was the mountain village of Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture. After hopping on a Shinkansen heading into the mountains, I arrived there around noon.
Though appearing to be yet another quiet rural town, once...
Anonymous asked: hey ty,
it's nanay kumusta ka i miss u and i hope you are having a fun time!!!!!!!!!
i loved the helmet you were wearing
love Nanay
it's nanay kumusta ka i miss u and i hope you are having a fun time!!!!!!!!!
i loved the helmet you were wearing
love Nanay
Anonymous asked: Hey Ty!
Great posts! Just enjoyed KT Tunstall at Einsenhower Park this past weekend so I get where you're coming from. Unfortunately, the sponsors attracted a much older crowd, well, let's just say, we had our own (and only) mosh pit.
Uncle Edd
Great posts! Just enjoyed KT Tunstall at Einsenhower Park this past weekend so I get where you're coming from. Unfortunately, the sponsors attracted a much older crowd, well, let's just say, we had our own (and only) mosh pit.
Uncle Edd
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“Matsushima, Ah Matsushima!” From Basho with Love
It felt strange waking up in a new bed, in a new city, 300 kilometers north of Tokyo. I had just gotten used to the Tokyo rhythm and the pulsating life of the city. I knew that I had to continue my journey and explore many different parts of the country, even if they didn’t carry the same energy as the capital.
However, when I stepped outside of my youth hostel in Sendai at 9 AM, I didn’t...
Anonymous asked: Fire dancers?
Anonymous asked: Hey Kuya Tyler!
i really miss you. What was your favorite place you went to besides the concert?
Mia
i really miss you. What was your favorite place you went to besides the concert?
Mia
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Post Concert Monday: A Quick Tokyo Bite, Then Off...
So, after a packed, music-filled weekend, my Monday was short: woke up late, did some stuff, got on a train in Tokyo, arrived in Sendai (300 km to the north), got to the hostel and slept.
Thus, I can keep my post short (happily for me after that last slew of posts). Here are the highlights:
After getting back to Tokyo, I went to Ichizo’s office, gave him his Zazen Boys t-shirt,...
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Rock in Japan Fes. 2010, Day 2: Indie Rock, Math...
So, children’s rides, huh.
I would be terrified of this ride as a child. What is that thing to the right, I don’t even know.
Finally making my way to the grass stage, I wait for Chatmonchy to come on stage. As I sit on the grass on the edge of the sprinkler radius, I saw three little kids running around the sprinkler. Believing this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my...
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Rock in Japan Fes. 2010, Day 2: Indie Rock, Math...
Coming into day 2 of the festival, the novelty of the new environment had settled a bit. I was ready to really enjoy the music around me, rather than allowing myself to be crushed in overcrowded mosh pits to fulfill my own fanboy fantasies (or, alternatively, gawking at the profusion of multicolored towels waving around me). After planning out my day from the artist lineup, and stocking up...
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Pompodours, Mosh Pits and an Endless Sea of Waving...
For as long as I’ve had an interest in Japan, I’ve been interested in Japanese music. In my younger days, when everything I knew about Japan came from history class or pop culture, I loved the theme songs to my favorite anime. As I grew older, I learned that those songs were actual tracks recorded by well-known Japanese artists. It turns out that having a song used for an anime is a good way...
Japanese Grandmas are "Cute"
Obaa-san: (How old are you?)
Me: (I'm 20.)
Obaa-san: (Oh, cute! You can call me Kimi-chan! Do you want to come to the rotemburo later?)
{ Japanese conversation with a grandma on the way to the hot springs. A rotemburo is a mixed gender open-air bath. Awkward. }
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Flying Solo in Kamakura (And How to Enjoy the...
On Friday, I went to Kamakura, a former capital of the Japanese shogunate and the location of many of Japan’s oldest Shinto and Buddhist temples. My journey was one without any companions, but the circumstances allowed me the opportunity to enjoy the tranquility of Kamakura in solitude. Despite being surrounded by other tourists, it was a lonely day, but one that was totally worth the...
“Wait, am I the only black guy here?”
– Some dude at the Daibutsu, Kamakura, Japan
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Old Money, Fresh Fish and Frank Lloyd Wright:...
Bread trucks: America needs them.
Taking the cue from the locals, I picked up some breakfast in the form of freshly baked bread. One vegetable baguette and melon-bread later, I’m on my way to check out where all the old money in Tokyo is found: Ginza.
Ginza was named after an Edo-period silver mint that was located in the area; “Gin” actually means silver and...
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Gardens & Godzilla: A Day at the East Imperial...
(This blog is so late, it’s not even funny. Mildly amusing, but DEFINITELY NOT FUNNY)
Wednesday started out just like any other day: woke up, brushed my teeth (using toothpaste, not a bottle of Jack…that’s just gross), ate a banana and flung myself headfirst into the swampy Tokyo humid heat.
All in all, a very normal start to a Tokyo day.
From my hostel in Asakusabashi, I...
Hi Tyler
I hope you’re not gorging yourself on sushi! Please add me to your blog. Hope all’s well.
Uncle Eddy
