Due to the large cultural influence, there are many Chinese temples in Nagasaki. The most famous of these is Sofukuji Temple, constructed by Chinese residents in 1629 and since designated a National Treasure. There is also a Chinese temple named Shofukuji that is neither as famous nor as stunning. Since I got the names of these places mixed up while traveling, I am treating you all to the lesser visited of the two.

Another example of the traditional Indian swastika called "manji" in Japanese. If the swastika is facing left (as shown) it represents love and mercy.  When facing right it represents strength and intelligence.   

It seems that most of the Ming architecture in Nagasaki is comprised of structures that look as though they were dipped in a giant vat of red paint. According to the tourist sign, what makes Shofukuji Temple unique is that only the "important" aesthetic elements of the building were painted red.

This peach panel was evidently one of the "important elements."

Old roof.

My pretty "nature meets religion" shot. Dear Studio Ghibli animator Oga Kazuo. If you are reading this blog and would like to use this image as part of one of your storyboards, please contact me. I think we can work something out.

This giant tree near the entrance to Shofukuji Temple is the largest of its kind in Nagasaki. As expected, I've forgotten exactly what type of tree this was.

This is the Oura Catholic Church. Built by French missionaries in 1864, this building has been designated a National Treasure and stands proud as the oldest church in Japan.

Another shot of the church. It started pouring rain right after I took the picture. To my surprise, I found that I was not carrying an umbrella and subsequently got quite wet.

This is the "Site of the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan." This memorial remembers the twenty Japanese Christians and six European missionaries who were crucified by the local government in 1597. Their souls were canonized by the Pope in 1862 and the modern monument pictured was constructed one hundred years later.

A closeup showing some of the saints. Three of the twenty six crucified were children.

It's a little hard to tell, but the two homes in the foreground are authentic Dutch-style residences from the "Hollander Slope" area of the city. Back in the day, Nagasaki natives referred to any and all European residents as "Hollanders."

It's a well known fact that many Japanese students go to "juku" or cram school late into the night to prepare for their high school and college entrance exams. It is here that they hone their math, science, social studies, and English skills. Those students needing help with the English section might want to enroll elsewhere.

Champon is the local specialty in Nagasaki, so of course I had to try some during my stay. This inexpensive and hearty ramen dish was created thanks to the large Chinese immigrant community in the city. As you can see, it is characterized by a milky white broth and the fact that they throw basically everything on hand into the bowl. This includes, but is not limited to, cabbage, fish cake, tofu, bean sprouts, meatballs, mushrooms, squid, shrimp... I was incredibly full by the time I reached the bottom of the bowl.

Fukuoka City (福岡市)

Fukuoka City was my first stop in Kyushu. Located in the northern part of the prefecture that bares its name; the city provides an easy gateway to the rest of the island.

As much as it pains me to write, if pressed for travel time, I would personally say that a visit to Fukuoka could be skipped, as more exciting destinations await in the rest of Kyushu.

Fukuoka is essentially the Sapporo, Tokyo, or Osaka of the southern island. That being said, if one has visited a medium to large sized Japanese city before, Fukuoka offers little in terms of uniqueness aside from some regional dishes and a handful of historically significant temples and shrines.

Silly as it may be, my best memory from the city was the sheer euphoria I felt when I rode the subway. A throwback to my months spent living in Tokyo, I forgot just how much I missed the subway (and high-speed transportation in general) living here in Shikoku.

I spent one night in Fukuoka in a capsule hotel before heading off to what was probably my favorite Kyushu destination - Nagasaki!

But, that will have to wait till next time...

B.E.W.

Canal City Hakata (pictured) is one of the primary tourist attractions in Fukuoka City. It is also nothing more than a giant shopping mall. I guess when sightseeing in a giant city, one has to take what they can get.

Canal City has this wacky spherical architecture. I thought this was by far the best thing about the mall.

The honest-to-goodness canal that gives Canal City its name - appropriately decorated with reindeer for Christmas.

Continuing the Christmas decorations with this snow-flaky chandelier. I really want to say that the entire thing was made of paper, but I have absolutely no evidence to back that up.

I'm particularly proud that I was able to capture the finale of the fountain show in such a dynamic picture. The musical score was "Be Our Guest" from Disney's Beauty & the Beast - please don't ask me why.

I guess the apparent Disney theme would explain the presence of these two...

One cannot visit Fukuoka without sampling the local (and of course famous!) ramen variety. In this case, Hakata Ramen is characterized by its milky broth made from boiled pork bones. I'm a Sapporo Miso Ramen man myself - have been ever since I first tasted the heavenly stuff up north. My main problem with Hakata Ramen was that you couldn't escape the meat flavor. Every sip of broth, every chew of noodle was absolutely jammed packed with meat flavor. Even the pork fillets on top tasted 130% meatier than usual, if that's possible.

My other famous Fukuoka food. This is "motsu nabe" or "random meat part stew." This treasure pot contains all of the entrails and giblets that we don't normally eat in America, along with Japanese staples such as soft tofu and green onion. Since it is customary for friends or family members to gather around a big stew pot during the wintertime, it's (apparently) quite funny that I was able to order an individual-sized serving. The dish was warming and actually tasted better than it looks.

Tochoji Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan of the Shingon sect, established by the philosopher monk known as Kukai. The main hall is home to the largest wooden statue of Buddha in Japan (not to be confused with the giant Buddhas in Nara and Kamakura which are made from bronze).

Here's a shot of what the largest wooden Buddha in Japan would have looked like had photography been permitted inside the temple hall...or had I possessed the bottle of chloroform necessary to knock out the middle-aged female temple worker who stood watching my every move like a hawk.

Kushida Shrine (built in 757). I stumbled across the shrine by chance while wandering around the city in the rain. It's kind of freaky how you can't see the sky at all in this picture.

A closer view of the shrine itself.

The entrance to Shofukuji Temple in the Hakata area of Fukuoka City.

Shofukuji Temple (pictured) was the first Zen Buddhist temple in Japan. It was established by the founder of the Japanese Zen sect, Yosai, in 1195.

Buddha image from the temple.

A shot of the Fukuoka Tower. I didn't pay the 800 Yen required to visit the viewing deck. There was a neat robot plaza in the building at the base where I got to play with the Sony robot dog AIBO.

Here is the artificial beach and villa named Momochi Seaside Park next to the Fukuoka Tower. You couldn't actually go inside since I think the space is mostly reserved for weddings.

The Japanese have a tradition of eating fried chicken for Christmas dinner (especially KFC), precisely because they think that is what we do in America. In fact, KFC, through ingenious marketing, has nearly cornered the market on holiday chicken sales nationwide. Sure enough, walking around Nagasaki on Christmas Eve, I saw a huge line of customers waiting to pick up their chicken dinners.

Is it just me, or does it look like Santa is delivering an extra special present for this family?

I want to drink with the person whose job it is to name the retail stores in Japan.

Not quite as good as a store named, "catch a tiger by his toe," but I guess this weird jungle bus follows the previous picture rather nicely.

Kyushu Beckons! (九州)

Hi all,

Well, I am officially back to work in Ehime after my preposterously long three week winter vacation.  I look forward to beginning a series of updates with pictures and stories from my trip around the island of Kyushu.

In the meantime, here is a shot of the Christmas-ish display from the ferry terminal in Matsuyama.  It was still up when I returned to Shikoku on New Year's Eve.  Having now rode on both a night ferry and a night highway bus, and attempted to sleep on both, I can say that it's a choice between sleeping in an earthquake simulator or sleeping on a roller coaster.  That being said, I think I prefer the roller coaster.

More to come soon!

B.E.W.

Happy New Year! (初詣)

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to 2009!

...or Heisei 21 if you use the Japanese calendar!

It is the year of the ox. I wish all of you reading this post a healthy, happy, peaceful, and prosperous new year. Yesterday night I watched the Japanese equivalent of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on TV. I began to get annoyed when the program started showing three song montages in between every live performance.

At the strike of midnight, the stations showed footage from the huge temples in Tokyo, such as the millions of balloons being released at Zozoji Temple, as well as thousands of people furiously chucking coins and praying at Meiji Jingu.

Ask any Japanese and you will learn the the most important first family activity of the new year is the first shrine visit (known as a "hatsumode" in Japanese). This is a chance to go with your family to the local shrine and pray for a healthy and happy new year.

Today, I headed into Matsuyama for my own hatsumode. It was bitterly cold today with periods of sleet raining from the sky, but that didn't stop hundreds and hundreds of people from showing up in mass at the city's most famous temples and shrines.

Just to cover all my bases, I visited both Isaniwa Shrine (Shinto) and Ishitei-ji Temple (Buddhist) to pray.

I'm looking forward to a good year!

B.E.W.

P.S. - As there tend to be lots of new year's parties and drinking around this time of year, I figured I'd take a moment to introduce you to my new favorite Japanese word: "Handle Keeper."  In Japan they call the steering wheel a "handle."  Thus, the "keeper of the handle" is one who abstains from drinking at a party - the designated driver.  The term sounds like something out of the Middle Ages...Awesome!    

Me waiting to pray at Isaniwa Shrine right next to Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama. Evidently some people had the same idea as me.

Piles of prayer slips, omikuji (fortunes), ema (wooden prayer plaques), good luck decorations, and who knows what else from the past year. All this will be burned in a ceremonial fire. Out with the old and in with the new. Sorry Mr. Daruma!

Welcome to Ishitei-ji Temple (literally "stone hand temple" in Japanese). Ishitei-ji is the most famous Buddhist temple in Matsuyama. As the hanging red lanterns announce, it is also temple number 51 of the 88 temples on the Shikoku pilgrimage.

This is Ishitei-ji's main gate (known as "Niomon" in Japanese). It has been designated a national treasure. Many snack booths and carnival game stations lined the road leading up to the entrance.

Another shot of the gate, this time showing the straw "shimekazari" decorations. These straw wreaths are placed at the entrances to temples, businesses, and private residences in order to ward off evil spirits and welcome the gods. People also affix them to the front grills of their cars. I saw quite a few cars driving around the streets with them. It's must be good peace of mind to know that even if your airbag doesn't deploy in that ten car pileup, at least you'll be protected from evil spirits.

People queued up in front of Ishitei-ji's iconic three tiered pagoda.

Another shot of the famous pagoda.

Looking back out towards the temple entrance. This is just to show how many people were in attendance. I had to wait over 30 minutes just to get up to the altar. Some of the more popular shrines in Japan, like Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, attract over 3 million hatsumode visitors between 1/1 ~ 1/3.

Winter Vacation GET! (冬休み)

Hi all,

I apologize for the recent lack of activity on the blog.  This post is just to say that I have now officially finished all my teaching duties for the year and will be on winter vacation until 1/12/2009 (Mon).

I will be travelling around Japan during this time, and will kick things off by leaving tomorrow night on a ferry bound for Kyushu.  While I'll likely be without web access during much of this time, I vow to return with loads of pictures and stories for many new updates.    

Here's wishing everyone happy holidays and a wonderful new year.

See you in 2009!

B.E.W.

I guess this is the opposite of a hard-on.

Here's a blurry night picture of Christmas light covered trees in downtown Matsuyama. The holidays are upon us in Japan.

Thanksgiving (感謝祭)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Okay, I fully realize that Thanksgiving is now around two weeks old. You don't have to rub it in! However, as I pull myself back towards regularly scheduled blog updates - I took a hiatus to cram for the Japanese proficiency exam - I figured it was as good a place as any to begin.

Two weeks ago, Cara and I had a complete Thanksgiving dinner with Japanese guests. I will begin by saying that I cannot claim even 06% of the credit for the resulting feast; it was ALL a result of my friend slaving away at the stove (or should I say our apartment's dual gas burners).

I can only claim sole responsibility for the dramatically over-sized mountain of mashed potatoes present at the meal. Once I began peeling, I sort of fell into a trance and polished off the two bags of spuds in no time.

I figured that our Japanese guests, raised in a nation obsessed with fries, sweet potatoes, and potato salad, would gobble up heaping spoonfuls of my mash. In actuality, I had to take around half of it home. Sadly, mashed potatoes are my least favorite Thanksgiving food.

Ironically, but perhaps expected, the one Thanksgiving food that is near impossible to procure in Japan is turkey. Most Japanese people have never tasted turkey - I think it was a first for all the guests at our dinner (along with roasted pumpkin seeds).

The only turkeys I have seen in Japan are whole, frozen-solid birds that are imported annually from America or New Zealand. Since there is literally zero demand for turkey in Japan, Mitsukoshi (a super high-end department store chain) only stocks around five birds per year. Each frozen turkey costs well over $100 USD.

Lucky for us, our American friend Lindsay (who had just returned to Ehime Prefecture at the time) was able to bring some canned turkey from Costco in America for us. So, all of our guests got to sample authentic American turkey (albeit a strange canned variety that required draining and heavily resembled tuna).

In total, our dinner menu included the following: turkey, stuffing, cranberries, carrots, mashed potatoes, salad, biscuits, pumpkin pie, and apple cider (I'm probably forgetting some things).

The prep for the meal included literally biking a complete kitchen's worth of utensils and ingredients from our apartment complex to the medical school (only about 5-7 minutes away).

Sure Lance Armstrong can win the Tour de France seven consecutive times, but can he ride with a steaming hot cauldron of mashed potatoes in his basket while holding a tupper of simmering maple glazed carrots in his hand?

In the end, our dinner was very fun, very friendly, and very Japanese. I am pleased to know that the tryptophan induced post meal laze exists in Japan the same as it does in America.

Happy Holidays!

B.E.W.

This picture looks as though it should be featured on either the cover of an amateur gourmet magazine or one of those shirts you design and print at the mall for Grandma.

Group shot featuring the remnants of our Thanksgiving feast. I actually had to leave right as dinner started to go teach a private lesson. Luckily, there was still enough of each dish left for me to sample when I returned an hour later.

Enjoying hot apple cider. Honest-to-goodness hot apple cider with rum in it! After biking around the suburb at midday and visiting every local liquor shop, I came to the realization that Japanese people primarily drink beer, sake, and whiskey. It took four shops before I found this "imported" bottle.

Häagen-Dazs in Japan has the "Happy Cup." The Happy Cup is only available on the 7th, 17th, and 27th of each month. You can choose seven different mini scoops which are piled into a cup as shown. The result is actually quite a bit of ice cream (more than I wanted to eat anyways). My favorites were burnt caramel and Belgian chocolate. Too bad they ran out of the avocado flavor I requested!