The front gate of the Emperor's Summer Palace in Beijing, China.

A smaller side gate leading into the Summer Palace.

A closeup of the intricate painting on the gate.

A peacock print hanging on one of the palace walls.

Here is the nicely decorated ceiling - there's always something to look at.

Here is the large mythical creature that protects the Summer Palace. He has the head of a lion, deer antlers, horse hooves and tail, and a turtle's shell.

Here is a large metal pot near the entrance to the Summer Palace.

Here is a guardian lion at the front gate.

Here is a giant rock in the same area. Its significance escapes me.

Here is one of the buildings at the Summer Palace bathed in sunlight. Chinese palace and shrine buildings have a much greater use of color when compared to their Japanese brothers.

Here is the royal keep at the Summer Palace. As you can see, most of these types of buildings are made out of stone in China, as opposed to Japan, where they would be made out of wood.

Here is another one of my artistic shots taken at the Summer Palace. Ang Lee - If you're reading my blog, please call me, I think we can work something out.

This is the Marco Polo Bridge. This is not the original bridge. The original bridge was destroyed by the Japanese in what the Japanese government says was a grave accident.

Here is the lake at the Summer Palace. The long waterfront walkway you see at the bottom of the picture is the longest walkway in the world (according to our tourguide). It goes all the way around this lake, which is the largest lake in China.

Here is a more traditional style Chinese boat on the lake at the Summer Palace.

Beijing University (北京大学)

Here are a couple of shots taken from the Beijing University campus. Beijing University is the most prestigious university in all of China and was located about 30 minutes from our hotel by taxi (a taxi ride which cost only two U.S. dollars thanks to the exchange rate).

Much like Kyoto University, Beijing University is filled with concrete buildings and a lifeless feel. Just like Japan, bikes were seen everywhere on campus, however most of the bikes were rusted and knocked over.

The centerpiece of the campus is a large lake with a view of the tall nearby pagoda. Vendors set-up by the lake and harass you to buy fake Beijing University goods and t-shirts. I was told that even if you go to the bookstore, you cannot get any "official" Beijing University souvenirs - it is all fake.

My friends and I also visited the Stanford Center at Beijing University (located in the international building - which is a converted hotel with the large crystal chandeliers still in place). Stanford students do not live with host families in China - they live in dorm rooms instead. The Stanford in China program is still in its infancy (it started just thee quarters ago), however, it appears to be in very capable hands and I wish it the best.

My friends met up with some of their friends (I didn't know the people) who were Stanford students studying in Beijing. We all went to a meat-bun place on campus and ate lots of meat-buns. They were very good (and dirt cheap), but as with most Chinese food I ate during my trip, it was all I could do not to projectile vommit a few hours after digesting.

On that note, enjoy the pics!

B.E.W.

Blowing in the wind...

Our sister-program in The Middle Kingdom.

Here is the famous and beautiful lake, the centerpiece of Beijing University's campus. The weather was very clear (but VERY hot!) on the day we went. I saw lots of students sitting on the banks of the lake studying and doing homework. It was very peaceful.

Here is the famous pagoda and lake together in a shot taken at Beijing University campus.

Here is another view of the lake at Beijing University.

Beijing Snapshots

Below are some fun pictures I took in Beijing that you can enjoy while I am readying my large update with impressions and comparisons between China and Japan.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

B.E.W.

Here is the ANA flight we took to China (which I nicknamed the vommit commet). The plane ride was absolutely brutal. It felt as though the pilot wanted to test the 767's capabilities to do barrel-rolls. The last 30 minutes of final descent had me clutching my emergency barf bag. I wanted to look out the window to see Mainland China, but the mere act of doing so pushed my lunch up into my throat as the plane cabin jostled back and forth and dropped altitude as if you were on a rollercoaster. I was very grateful when the ride came to an end.

A view of mainland China as seen from my airplane window.

This was taken in the Beijing International Airport. I was waiting with my luggage in the main terminal when, all of a sudden, I found myself engulfed in a sea of orange t-shirt clad Chinese kids. Evidently there was some Chinese pop music star at the airport. She actually walked right past me (just like Bon Jovi did in Sapporo). This shot represents me trying to take her picture. The screaming and crying orange t-shirt clad Chinese fans were more effective at taking her picture than I.

This sign above the entrance to the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing makes me smile everytime I see it. I was all set to bring my suitcase nukes into the building, but the sign persuaded me not to.

At night when my friends and I took a boat ride in downtown Beijing, I spotted this neon sign. I don't really know what this place sold, but judging from my abundant encounters with Beijing prostitutes, I'm sure it is exactly what it seems like.

Here is a funny sign found near the entrance to the Emperor's Summer Palace. This sign prohibits anything you could think of doing while inside.

This is what all the public pay phones look like in Beijing. What is it with Asian countries and weird looking public phones? Japanese pay phones are neon green and the Chinese variety have these ugly orange pods around them. Go figure.

Here is the pretty sky-lit roof above the dining area where we ate each morning in our hotel.

Here is a neat looking horse sculpture found in our Landmark Beijing Hotel lobby.

The summer Olympics will be held in Beijing in 2008. Because of this, in addition to the stadium itself, there are tons of modern buildings being constructed downtown for the influx of tourists - the Beijing airport I flew into is being rennovated as well. The Olympics are the biggest thing to come from Beijing since SARS, so it is only fitting that this mountain top ad was found smack dab in the middle of the Great Wall.

I couldn't get my camera out in time, but the pink blob you see on the truck are crates and crates filled with live pigs being transported down the highway.

Here is a weird dune buggy looking thing that I spotted on the way to the Great Wall. I don't know what it is used for.

Here is a picture of Beijing's abandoned theme park. This place was supposed to become the Disneyland of China - but construction was shut down and the theme park was never completed. This empty shell of childhood joy is left for all to see.

How did I buy all of my stuff in China you ask - why with Mao Money of course! Mao Money comes in all the colors of the rainbow. Chinese currency is actually called either the Yuan, Kwai, or Renminbi (depending on your mood). Anyway you say it, it spells savings in the bank! The exchange rate is roughly 8 Kwai to the dollar. The Chinese don't really use coins, so you wind up with a huge stack of one-kwai bills that aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Here is a sample of the pirated DVDs I bought. They cost anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar each. While the packaging design is quite nice, the text on the back of the box often has no relation to the actual movie. For instance, my copy of DaVinci Code says, "Jim Carrey is the funniest man in Amorica" on the back.

Here is my Mao bag. I bought this for 15 Kwai (a little less than two dollars). The red Chinese characters say, "For The People." I like wearing it in Japan - I haven't gotten any reactions yet.

Gucci...or is it?

Here's a view of the full fake leather Gucci bag.

Here is the fake Timberland leather wallet I bought for a few dollars.

Amaterasu (天照)

The night before we all departed for Beijing, everyone at the center was treated to a performance at the Kyoto Theater thanks to the generosity of the Bing Family (once again).

We saw Bando Tamasaburo's "Amaterasu" with special guest Kodo. Amaterasu is the sun goddess who was classically considered to be the ancestor of the Japanese imperial family (prior to the end of WWII, that is, when the emperor was redefined as a mortal figurehead).

Bando Tamasaburo is the most famous kabuki actor in Japan. Kabuki is an all-male traditional Japanese theater form - and Tamasaburo plays female roles. As Amaterasu, he was decked out in a long flowing white kimono with sparkly things all over that caught the light. His (her?) movements were incredibly smooth - it really was a marvel to watch. Amaterasu's subtle, soft movements were a bit out of place however when the Kodo taiko group went to play several encore numbers and all she could do was rotate back and forth and wave her hands like Ms. Ivar's aboard the acres of clams parade float.

Kodo is one of the most famous and internationally recognized taiko (Japanese drum) groups out there. The performance was one part taiko and one part kabuki theater - telling the story of Amaterasu's rivalry with her brother Susano (the storm god). A fight with her brother Susano causes Amaterasu to hide in a cave and plunge the world into darkness. At the end of the play, she is drawn out of her cave and light is restored to the world. That's the Amaterasu story in a nut shell.

The taiko was absolutely great! I am a huge fan of taiko. There were points where they had 15 to 20 different drums of all size on stage. We were sitting in the back of the balcony, but even so, you could still feel the vibrations. The physical strength needed to beat on these drums while jumping and doing martial arts-style gymnastics must be astronomical. One section had five guys lying on the floor doing situps to reach their drums.

All in all, what a great experience!

B.E.W.

A marquee outside the Kyoto Theater for Bando Tamasaburo's "Amaterasu" with the taiko group Kodo.

Here is a poster for the show we saw - "Amaterasu." This is Bando Tamasaburo, the most famous kabuki actor in all of Japan dressed up in the Amaterasu costume.

Here is an glowing latern outside of the Kyoto Theater where we saw the taiko performance.

Back in Japan!

Hi everyone,

I am back in Kyoto now after a week-long trip to Beijing, China. I had a very good and a very enlightening time. I look forward to updating you all soon with pictures and impressions from my time in a country that is 180 degrees from Japan (though not always in a bad way).

On an unrelated note, there now seems to be one or two line repetitive comments on virtually all of my blog postings saying things like, "I love your site" and, "how do you get such great colors?"

Either I have a blog stalker or some sort of SPAM program is automatically responding to all my posts. I'm willing to bet the latter.

More to come soon, goodnight!

B.E.W.

The Middle Kingdom...

...and as I leave you, I vow that I will return stronger and more creative than ever before!

Well everyone, I am off to The Middle Kingdom - China to be exact. I will leave for Beijing very early tomorrow morning with my international relations classmates and be be back in Japan on Thursday evening of next week.

I will be participating in a joint conference with other Stanford overseas studies programs (Oxford, Berlin, Beijing, and Washington D.C.) on the theme of China in the 21st century (global security, policy, and economy).

More than the conference, I am really looking forward to the sight-seeing and the chance to go to a new Asian country. Also, I wear a backpack filled with negative stereotypes about China right now, so it will be informative to actually go there and to compare with Japan. I heard that it is supposed to be 95 - 105 degrees the whole time we are there, with additional sandstorms, so I hope my asthma doesn't eat me alive.

I also hope to buy all this summer's blockbuster movies on pirated DVDs and my very own Folex watch and Ducci bag too!

I will not have a computer with me or stable Internet access in the conference center (why this is the case I do not know...it seems to defeat the purpose of a conference center). So, the blog will go on a week long vacation of sorts as I gather up stories and experiences in the PRC.

If for some reason the Communist government decides to hold me as a political prisoner and I never see you all again, please find solace in the fact that in my last moments as a free man, I was eating bowls of noodles that cost the equivalent of twenty-five cents.

Till next time,

B.E.W.

Columbia Music Entertainment

*One more story before I leave...*

Two weeks ago I put on my snazzy suit and went to Tokyo to the headquarters of Columbia Music Entertainment in Roppongi for a meeting about my summer internship.

I took the bullet train from Kyoto which takes about 2.5 hours. The ride was pleasant enough, though I was pretty nervous and my feet were crammed in thanks to the sprawled out Japanese man sitting in the seat next to me. I was in my suit which was just about unbearable in the train car (I don’t know how Japanese businessmen do this everyday).

Japanese people always love to crank up the heat in places and the train car was no exception. I was sweating profusely in my suit and since I had gained a few pounds, the dress shirt and tie choked my neck and I felt like a walrus stuffed into a human's clothing. I also didn’t realize that there was a nifty pull-out hanger built-in to the side of each seat row for you to hang your suit coat on. I suffered in the sweltering heat due to my own ignorance.

When I arrived in Tokyo it was time for me to make my four fast-paced successive transfers from one mode of transportation to another in order to end up in Roppongi. Needless to say, I won’t be auditioning for a spot on The Amazing Race anytime soon with my navigational skills. I made several failures, from buying a train ticket when I was supposed to buy a subway one, to overpaying for a route that I didn’t need to take. I clutched my printed directions in one hand as I battled my way upstream through the sea of black suit coats to get to my next departure gate.

I would always take my failed ticket to the train station attendant and tell them in Japanese that I had made a mistake, while displaying my best puppy dog gaijin eyes. Each attendant would say, “Yes, you did make a mistake didn’t you,” laugh, and then refuse to refund my lost money. All in all I suspect that I lost close to ten dollars in traveling blunders (and I can speak and read Japanese).

Somehow or another I eventually arrived in Roppongi, just in time for it to start raining. People say that Roppongi is one of the lewdest and grimiest places in Tokyo, filled with sex districts and drugs, but you’ll have to wait till the summer for my full report. My time in Roppongi was limited to the Columbia Music building and a Subway.

I ran to Subway and got a cream cheese and chicken sub and inhaled it as though I were Takeru Kobayashi, the Japanese hotdog eating whiz. I wiped my mouth and headed to Columbia Music (An unspoken rule is that you are NEVER late in Japan...especially in business!).

From the outside, Columbia Music looks like any other high rise office building. I went inside and told the receptionist that I had a meeting with Mr. Okuno from personnel and she instructed me to wait in the lobby. The lobby was a series of red and black stylish cube-form chairs with posters and displays all around of the various recording artists on the different Columbia labels. I didn't know any of them.

After being given enough time to thoroughly drench my suit in sweat, Okuno-san came out to meet me. In his mid 30s and dressed in a grey polo shirt and jeans, I was immediately surprised by how un-Japanese businessman he seemed (it must be the music industry thing).

We sat and chatted downstairs for a few minutes – he gave me his business card and I slowly but surely got into the rhythm of speaking polite Japanese. As we were waiting for the elevator, Okuno-san asked me if I could read this sign in kanji. I didn’t know what sign he was pointing out so I guess I failed the first test.

Once on the fifth floor, we walked to and sat down in a giant conference room with me on one side of the massive table and Okuno-san on the other next to the white board (we would soon be joined by five more Columbia section chiefs). Okuno-san brought me some iced green tea which was much needed to replenish the electrolytes I lost during my sweating tsunami.

Okuno-san wrote up my itinerary for the day on the board. 1) Complex verbal and visual introduction to the company to indirectly test Ben's Japanese ability, 2) Grill Ben in Japanese about his life, his ambitions, and the state of young people in America, 3) A company tour with at least three required uncomfortable situations for Ben. From the minute I arrived at Columbia, everything was conducted in Japanese – there was not one moment where anyone assumed that I would not be able to function in an entirely Japanese environment, and honestly I do not know what would have happened if I could not perform under this type of pressure. I kept telling myself, thank god I can speak Japanese! I know they were thinking the same thing, because there is nothing a Japanese person fears more than having to speak the English they learned in school for six years.

Okuno-san wrote my day's itinerary on the board in Japanese and for some reason the stars aligned and I could read all the kanji characters. This really impressed him and he would later boast to any japanese person in near proximity about my kanji reading and Nihongo speaking skills (though the test wasn’t an accurate representation).

To my surprise, Columbia is actually NOT affiliated with Columbia Records U.S.A. (a Sony subsidiary). There was a time when they were, but they separated at least 15 years ago. Columbia began as Japan’s first recording company in 1910 and originally produced televisions, audio recording equipment, phonographs, and other audio hardware. Nowadays they deal primarily with recording music of all types (they have anime, kids, pop music, jazz, classical, and country labels just to name a few). They also do some video editing for TV shows and commercials. I got a nifty comic book version of the history of the company as a souvenir and read it on the train ride coming home. Columbia also has an American headquarters in Georgia of all places.

Next it was time for the improvisational segment of the day’s events. Five section heads or chiefs came in and sat opposite me with Okuno-san. It felt like being in front of a firing squad. It was surreal, when was Donald Trump going to walk in and the cameras start rolling? These chiefs were from the marketing division, anime division, Enka or Japanese country music, etc. First, they commented that I was over dressed and asked me if I bought my suit just for the internship. When I said no they all breathed a sigh of relief. I introduced myself in Japanese and then had to give a 10-15 minute life history (only the good stuff), followed up by my career ambitions, and finally my wildest dream segments.

The interesting thing when in situations like this is that you cannot use a dictionary or pause to help yourself out. You simply have to keep going and force yourself to make sense in a foreign language. You find in general that when the pressure is on, you know a lot more than you actually think you do.

At one point Okuno plunked down the company profile and division breakdown in front of me in Japanese and wanted me to read it and select the divisions that interested me for work. Looking at the jumble of characters, I didn't know whether I should choose "squiggly box rice patty" or possibly "bamboo forrest duck house" - the possibilities were endless. This portion of the meeting was difficult to say the least, but luckily I got the gist of what was going on. Truly speaking, if you don’t know what’s going on, you have to ask questions and improvise – no one is going to wait for you to figure it out.

I successfully articulated my ideas and goals to the group of Japanese businessmen who were all smiling by the end. Next, I went on a company tour with Okuno san.

As expected, most floors were either recording studios or regular offices with computers and people working on stuff. It seemed to me that all these people were working pretty hard, but Okuno-san found it necessary to march me into the room FILLED with people and stop them from what they were doing.

“Excuse me,” he’d say. “I’d like to introduce to you Mr. Ben Whale—Whare—Ware…uh…Ben-san.” He would then ask me to do a jiko-shokai or self introduction and I would stare at the thirty-some office workers (now standing perfectly upright with eyes fixed on me) and give the four sentence version of my life and times. After my awkward speech, some workers would nod and smile while others would look me over with a gaze that said, “Quick, send an email to the imperial family that the Americans have invaded!”

We worked our way up the floors, climbing higher and higher within the company until we reached the top floor with the kaicho or company president. Okuno-san knocked on his door and I swallowed my tongue. After a moment a man came and opened the door and looked at us both. I had a look in my eyes that said, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be on your top floor, I was just looking for the bathroom.” Okuno-san however wasted no time in explaining my presence on the top floor and boasting about my ability to read kanji and speak Japanese. I felt like a set of deluxe SEARS kitchen knives, with Okuno-san as the salesman.

The company president looked at me and looked at Okuno-san and said bluntly to him, “Can the kid speak Japanese?” Okuno-san answered yes and I followed up with “Yes, please speak to me in Japanese.” The company president said, “Okay, he can come in,” and walked back towards his desk without looking at me. I stepped in the room and bowed deeply. I told him in my best honorific Japanese that I wanted to thank him for the wonderful experience and I hope to work hard and get a lot out of this experience. He seemed to shrug off my politeness and said that I should teach him English, because most of the Japanese people at the company cannot speak English. I paid lip-service to his request and then did an about-face, taking a moment to bow deeply before leaving.

I had begun sweating again - I needed more iced green tea. Luckily, Okuno-san and I went down to a lounge and drank iced coffee. I had never heard of “Enka” or traditional Japanese folk / country music, so he gave me about ten sample CDs and pads of paper featuring different Enka artists. My meeting was scheduled for two hours and as the minute hand struck 12, Okuno-san said, "well its time for you to be going." Wow…scheduling down to the minute! I said goodbye to Okuno-san and that I would see him later in the summer. He said that he would send me materials in Japanese about my internship but I have not yet received anything.

It was pouring buckets of rain so I took the same four transfers in reverse and then ate sushi in the Tokyo train station. I rode the 2.5 hour bullet train ride back to Kyoto – it was still boiling hot in the train car, but at least this time I placed my suit coat on the built-in hanger, just like a Japanese businessman.

B.E.W.

Kizakura Kappa

One of the two famous sake breweries in Kyoto is Kizakura (the other is Gekkeikan - you can see it down below). Kizakura has a family of kappa or turtle-humanoid creatures as their mascots for advertisements. They don't use these guys anymore, probably because of the blatant sexuality in the ads.

I guess the Kappa family was originally based on prehistoric fossils and skeletons discovered around the world that revealed what seemed to be human - turtle hybrids.

B.E.W.

Here is the Kappa turtle family mascots as they appeared in TV commercials and print ads.

Here is a figurine of a lewd kappa turtle exposing himself. Bad kappa...Bad!

Here is the kappa turtle creature for real. Not nearly as cute as his cartoon counterpart is he? If this were the thing on the TV commercials, everyone would be having nightmares.

You Know You Want Some...

Below are pictures of various ads for Gekkeikan sake.

Enjoy the pictures!

B.E.W.

Here are the metal templates they used to make sake advertisements before modern-day printing techniques were available.

One of the first color printed ads for Gekkeikan Sake on display at the museum.

Here is an ad for Gekkeikan Sake from the 1930s.

A more modern baseball themed ad for Gekkeikan Sake.

Here is a bottle of the first brown sake brewed at the Gekkeikan Sake Brewery (I am unsure of the year). YUM...vintage!