Here was the grand prize winning pumpkin from the 2008 Pumpkin Carnival. While taking this picture, the grower / owner came up to me and struck up a conversation. He insisted on taking multiple pictures of me posing next to his gigantic gourd. I can only hope that one of the shots ends up on the front page of the local paper.

This pumpkin was sadly only a runner-up.

Pounding out the mochi. These were filled with a mixture of pumpkin and red bean.

Smokey the Bear Pumpkin?

Prostitute Pumpkin

Gogoshima (興居島)

Yesterday Cara and I put on our safari hats and headed to the nearby island of Gogoshima for a taste of the simple life. Gogoshima is one of two islands off the coast of Matsuyama City here in Ehime Prefecture (the other is known as Nakashima). Both islands are easily accessible via a 15 minute ferry ride that leaves from a port on the outskirts of the city.

I was told that the primary function of both Gogoshima and Nakashima is to produce the mikan (mandarin oranges) that put Ehime Prefecture on the map. True to form, our hike through the southern tip of the island revealed groves upon groves of mikan trees stretching on through the rolling hills.

The main locations of interests on Gogoshima are two medium sized mountains for hiking, as well as a beach area located on the backside of the island. Gogoshima is also home to an elementary school, junior high school, and hospital, so civilization on the island does exist.

Given that there were so many hills of varying sizes on the island, it was difficult to locate those two specifically designated for hiking. I don’t think we ever found them. We did however take a long walk that took us from the port to the beach and then through the mikan groves.

I saw garden snakes, lizards, jellyfish (or perhaps something manmade that resembled a jellyfish), herons, and TONS of spiders. The vegetation on the island seemed lush and diverse, but since I know absolutely nothing about plant life, I can’t act as your botanical guide.

By far, the best thing about the trip was meeting all the kind folks on the island. Since we decided to hike away from the port area, we quickly found ourselves trekking down an isolated road in the middle of nowhere. Houses dotted the roadside to the right as waves crashed at the beach to the left.

Though we had both packed water bottles, I took the opportunity to ask literally the ONLY other humans I saw, a passing elderly Japanese couple, for a recommendation on where to get some water. After the husband gave me directions to a nearby vending machine, the wife whipped out a big bottle of freshly bought ice tea.

She cracked it open and of course insisted on filling up our bottles. I told her to stop halfway up but she said “absolutely not” and kept pouring to the tippy top. She then instructed me to drink some and waited for me to do so, staring intently. Once I had taken a gulp and nodded to indicate my newfound refreshment, she filled it back up to the top again and smiled.

One thing I have been constantly struck by since moving here to Shikoku is the genuine kindness of everyday folks. Day to day human interactions here are so far removed from the stereotypically crowded streets of Tokyo, where everyone seems incased in their own personal emotion-proof bubble. People here actually say hello to you as you walk down the street. Someone will stop and spend the time to draw you a map if you don’t know where you are going. These random acts of kindness continue to joyfully take me by surprise.

After a number of “domo arigatos,” we parted ways with the elderly couple and headed over to a general store on the recommendation of the husband. After a few turns down dusty alleys, we entered into what was very likely someone’s home and shopped at the most makeshift convenience store I have ever seen.

The shop was run by a plump and jolly older Japanese woman with white hair. She had only one tooth and cackled laughter after any utterance whether it was funny or not. There were lots of noodle bowls available for purchase but no way to boil water, so we settled on a mishmash of pre-prepared items. The pickings were slim but the resulting menu for our beach picnic was hilarious.

It was like we were contestants on Super Market Sweep, frantically grabbing random items off the shelf in a desperate attempt to create something that resembled food. I think we ended up with fried fish cake, whole sweet red beans, bread, savory mochi, orange marmalade, and big cans of beer.

I had asked the shopkeeper about water, but she responded that they didn’t sell water, only beer or tea. Without missing a beat, she then reached into the refrigerated case, pulled out a large bottle of spring water and handed it to me, saying I could have it. I tried to refuse, but she gave me a host of reasons as to why she didn’t need it, the main one being that she prefers to swallow her nighttime medication with either tea or beer as it is, so water is useless. This was followed by assorted cackles.

Paying for our lunch was also incredibly charming and fitting given the circumstances. Since there were no prices marked on any item, I stood patiently while the older woman flipped beads on her abacus and muttered numbers out loud. She arrived at a price of near $11 US, but then recalculated twice due to “errors,” bringing the final total to somewhere over $8. I was twenty yen short while trying to pay with the coins in my wallet, but before I could hand her the bill, she said “That’s fine, that’s enough,” and let out a brief cackle as she snatched the coins from my hand. Hands down best convenience store EVER!

We had our picnic by the beach. The tide was out so there was a nice flat surface to sit on. Much appreciated was the fact that the rain proved the weather forecasters wrong and took a hike for the day. Though the sun was by no means blazing in the overcast sky, I still managed to get fairly sunburned. I didn’t realize the extent of my redness until I looked in the mirror at a department store.

In general, I find this area of Japan to be so relaxing and peaceful; I believe it has to be healing for the soul and the mind. Walking around Gogoshima, it was so easy to be engulfed in complete silence, to be surrounded by nature and not see or hear another soul. Coming from places like Seattle, and Stanford, and Tokyo, I am so accustom to noise and bustle in my everyday life. When all that noise is simply erased from the picture, the resulting calm is liberating and cleansing.

I think oftentimes silence really can be golden.

B.E.W.

The ferryboat that took us from Takamatsu Port outside Matsuyama to the nearby coastal island of Gogoshima.

This "Hinomaru" flag on the back of the boat has seen better days.

Approaching Gogoshima on the ferryboat. This will serve as the opening shot for my movie, "Letters from Gogoshima," the story of a solitary mikan farmer who sends a letter a day to Tokyo in the hope of reuniting with his estranged son.

Here is what you see when you get off the ferry and step onto the island for the first time.

Gogoshima had quite a few palm trees. It was just like being back at Stanford!

This lion creature perches on his ball and guards the entrance to the temple.

All the different temple elements come together.

My artistic shot of the temple with the stone columns in front. Dear director Zhang Yimou, if you are reading this blog and are in search of a new cinematographer please contact me. I think we can work something out.

Here is the temple up close. The island of Shikoku is famous for a pilgrimage that encompasses 88 different temples throughout all the prefectures on the island. I wonder if this is one of the 88? It used to be that one would complete the pilgrimage on foot. Nowadays one can visit all the sites by car or even book an 88 temple packaged tour. Nothing like spiritualism meets consumerism!

Perhaps this was one of the two designated hiking mountains that we were supposed to climb...

The beach where we had our picnic.

The sight of all these mikan groves reminded me of when I was a young child and hated tomatoes. My father told me that he was going to plant so many tomato plants to entangle the house that I would not be able to leave the premises without eating a ripe and juicy tomato. I wonder if the same thing happened here between a Japanese father and his son?

One of the many mikan trees to be found on Gogoshima. The fruits themselves looked far too large to be the satsuma / mandarin oranges of my memory. Perhaps the island was playing tricks on me.

An unripe mikan up close and personal.

A picture of the mine cart style vehicle that mikan farmers ride around the hills to easily access their groves.

And a shot of the super neat track that the little cart rides on. You have no idea how much I wanted to hijack one and go for a roller coaster spin. I'm going to pitch my ride idea for "Ben's barreling Mikan Mine Kart Adventure" to Disneyland this fall.

While handguns are illegal for all citizens, some forms of hunting rifles and knives are legal in Japan with the proper permit. I didn't really see much to hunt around the island except for mikan fruits, and they didn't put up much of a fight.

My friend here wanted to take a shower with me last night. I tried unsuccessfully for about 30 minutes to nab him inside a pot, but he was just too fast and clever for me. I had no choice but to trap him in one corner of the bathroom and bash his brains out with a half empty bottle of tub cleaner. Even though I knew he was long dead, I definitely did the old horror movie cliché of smashing the carcass over and over again while panting and screaming "DIE!!!".

Easily Burnable (ゴミの日)

“We are very advanced here in Japan.” The phrase was spoken through a nervous laughter and clenched teeth. This was how my boss sought to justify the unjustifiable lunacy that is Japan’s waste disposal and recycling management system.

Having never lived solo in a residential area in Japan before, I sat dumbfounded as the plump Japanese man behind the counter at the city hall began handing me my garbage documents. First a pamphlet in Japanese…then an English translation of the same material…then a fully printed schedule of dates and times…then a map showing two separate trash pickup zones at opposite ends of the city. By the time we got to the wall sized poster featuring some 26 different varieties of trash, I was fighting back laughter. Was this for real?

As far as I can surmise, Japan has taken it upon itself to create the single most complex and baffling process of waste disposal / recycling known to man. The core idea is that one must separate their garbage into two distinct categories; burnable and unburnable. For example, a burnable piece of waste would be a stinky fish head or an athletic sock. An unburnable item would be the plastic casing to my asthma inhaler. Seems intuitive enough right?

It was likely around this point during the annual meeting of the Japanese National Garbage Association that all the sanitation officials present cracked open cases of beer and threw reason out the window.

In the twisted trash world envisioned by these bureaucrats, garbage disposal wasn’t to be a universal right for the masses, but rather a privilege granted only to those select few citizens disciplined enough to study books on the subject or run garbage drills late into the night.

In this vein, below are just a small sample of the actual rules and regulations for waste disposal in my suburban city of To-on:

>Cans, glass bottles, and other assorted glass items will be collected on the first Sunday of every month at location #2

>Plastic bottles must first have their caps removed and then be placed in a clear plastic bag. Meanwhile, the bottle caps themselves and all other types of non-bottle-related plastics must be placed in a different clear plastic bag with the word “plastic” written legibly on the side. Both types of plastic items will be collected on the second and fourth Sundays of the month at location #2.

>Milk cartons must be washed, cut into strips along the seams, rewashed, hung out to line dry, tied with twine, and then returned to a special bin in front of the local grocery store.

>Small paper scraps may be disposed of with burnable waste, which will be collected in a green bag on Wednesday and Saturday of each week at location #1. Garbage must be placed outside only between the hours of 6 and 8 AM.

>Paper items that cannot rightly be categorized as “scraps” (including magazines, newspapers, envelopes, wrapping paper, and plastic coated paper shopping bags) are to be neatly arranged and tied with twine. They will be collected every Thursday at location #1 and must also be placed outside only between the hours of 6 and 8 AM.

…and the list goes on…

The kicker is that one must write their name, neighborhood, and house number on every garbage bag. The printed name and address ensure that the appropriate punishments can be handed down when you panic and throw away that empty tube of toothpaste in the bag that was supposed to contain the empty shampoo bottle instead.

For the first time in my adult life I can honestly say that I am scared shitless of my own garbage. My nightmares are now filled with yogurt cups, bubble wrap, and egg cartons. It’s enough to make you want to stop consuming any products at all. Perhaps that’s the point of this whole sick and twisted social experiment.

The previous tenant of this apartment decided to be disrespectful and leave opened and half-eaten food in most of the kitchen cupboards. The result is that I now have piles of stale, moldy, and bug infested food in need of a welcoming trashcan. Of course, with the system the way it is here, I have no way to easily get rid of this junk. My boss told me I should separate out all the food materials from their packaging. I told her that I flat out refused to dig through moldy and bug infested food, especially when the stuff is not even mine!

Because of situations like this, I have already spent ample free time brainstorming ways to game the system. One idea I thought of was walking to a nearby home and copying the kanji for their family name off the placard by the front door. This way I could write their name on my bags and submit my garbage with theirs. Won’t the Sakai family be surprised when ol’ Gramps is hauled away by the ward police for improperly disposing of his Fruit by the Foot wrappers?

If that doesn’t work, I have already accepted the fact that I may be forced to take all of my garbage to a remote area of the island for a controlled wild fire. So, if you read in the paper about a large section of protected Shikoku wilderness being suddenly destroyed by flames, you’ll know that the trash man drove me to it. But, I suppose when you stop and think about it, natural wilderness fits into the burnable category already, so I just have to make sure that I torch it on either Wednesday or Saturday between 6 and 8 AM.

B.E.W.

Matsuyama City (松山市)

Matsuyama is the most populous city in all of Shikoku. While it is certainly no Tokyo, my brief time there has already convinced me that it is loads more interesting than To-on suburbia. In truth, it reminded me a lot of my time in Kyoto.

It takes exactly 30 minutes to get from my apartment in To-on City to Matsuyama Station via a two car local train that chugs along at a snail's pace.

This past Sunday, fellow English lecturer Cara and I met our boss in Matsuyama City and spent the day hitting some of the more famous sightseeing spots while running some errands at the same time.

We ate lunch at a super yummy curry restaurant run by an actual family from India. I ordered the fish curry at the four-star spice level (spiciness went up to five-stars). There was a solid heat on the curry so I was not disappointed. In retrospect I could have gone up to five-stars, but I didn't want to lose control of my bodily functions while showcasing manliness in front of my new friends. I didn't regret eating the curry until later that night. We'll just leave it at that.

Every Thursday I will be teaching a private English lesson in Matsuyama, so I am sure I will get to know the city well as I commute back and forth. Matsuyama is one of the few cities left in Japan that still utilizes a street car system for its local transportation.

Two of the most famous sightseeing spots in the city are Matsuyama Castle (松山城) and Dōgo Onsen (道後温泉). We visited both spots, though we did not actually go in and take a bath at Dōgo. I plan to do this later and give a full report!

Ehime Prefecture as a whole is famous for mikan (mandarin orange / satsuma), so it is understandable that one could find mikan products of nearly every variety as far as the eye could see. The bottle of mikan juice I gulped down (called Pon Juice in Japanese) was absolutely delicious. It probably didn't hurt that it was around 90 degrees and I was pouring sweat.

Matsuyama City is also in love with Natsume Sōseki's 1906 novel Botchan, which is appropriate since the story is set in Matsuyama. There were giant plastic character statues from the novel in one outdoor park. I also saw VHS and DVD versions of the various movie and TV adaptations of the book available in shops.

I'm half considering buying the book to read on my train trips into the city. I'll read the chapters as I guzzle bottles of Pon Juice. Somehow it seems like a fitting way to pass the time.

B.E.W.

Matsuyama Castle is situated on the top of a large hill. The hill is ascended either via a long hike (which was out of the question given the heat of the afternoon), rope way tram car, or chairlift. The correct mode of transport was a no brainer.

Riding up the hill on the aforementioned chairlift. It is worth noting that the lift had no sort of seatbelt or restraint whatsoever. Watching little kids swing their legs to-and-fro, I could not help but think that we would not allow such a ride in America.

Matsuyama City peeking through the trees as I ride the chairlift up the hill to the castle.

My partner in crime, fellow English language lecturer Cara, posing with the samurai dude at the top of the chairlift.

You can't really tell it from the picture, but the rock wall's face was bowed so as to make it difficult for invaders to climb.

Once you get off the chairlift at the top of the hill, there is still quite a bit of walking to do before you get to the actual castle.

Getting closer...almost there...

Matsuyama Castle was built in 1603 but suffered some damage from American bombings during WWII. Since 1966, the city of Matsuyama has been working to restore the castle and it has been designated a national treasure.

My boss told me that they repainted Matsuyama Castle just two years ago. This would explain that new castle sparkle.

The actual entrance to the castle once you get past all the rock walls, gates, and archers.

Medieval sniping spot.

The grounds leading up to the castle proper as viewed from high up. As is always the case, the area was lined with souvenir shops.

A view of Matsuyama City from the tippy top of Matsuyama Castle.

Dōgo Onsen is arguably the oldest and most famous onsen (hot spring) in all of Japan. The establishment dates back over 1500 years and has served as a creative muse to many an author and classical poet. Heck, even the imperial family has their own private bathing chamber reserved year-round at Dōgo. The main building of the onsen was also the inspiration for the spirit bathhouse featured in Miyazaki's Academy Award winning animated film Spirited Away. I've included the following picture for comparison.

The side of Dōgo Onsen. If I stood on my tippy toes I could see people in yukata enjoying some cold tea after a bath.

Home Sweet Home (住宅)

Despite this being only my fourth night in Japan, it already feels like I have been here for ages. It’s been a whirlwind past couple of days and I am just now getting the downtime necessary to put my jetlagged thoughts in order.

Below you can see pictures of my new home, the KSS apartment complex. I am living in Ehime Prefecture, which is the large northwestern chunk of the island of Shikoku. Within Ehime, I live in a suburb known as To-on City (pronounced toe-own). I purposely hyphenate the name because for some reason whenever I see “Toon City” I think of Toon Town at Disneyland and screw-up the pronunciation of the word in my head.

The entire KSS complex is made up of only nine apartments, one of which is inhabited by me and one of which is inhabited by my fellow English language lecturer Cara. The apartment is positively huge compared to that broom closet in Tokyo. As far as I can tell, Japanese residents occupy the other seven units. I have said hello to my neighbor a few times. He appears to go cycling quite a bit.

I plan to write-up more in-depth impressions of To-on City once I have thoroughly explored the area. However, my initial impression is that there is simply not much here. The phrase “in the middle of nowhere” comes to mind. While I was not honestly expecting Little Tokyo, there seem to be only three types of buildings in this city; homes, apartments, and schools. So far, I can count the number of stand-alone eating establishments in the immediate vicinity on one hand.

By far the most immediately noticeable and hilarious thing about my new home is that it is located a mere 10 feet from the train tracks. This means that every hour on the hour, 15, 30, and 45 minute marks, the train whizzes by KSS and delivers a perfectly punctual earthquake. Since I am a soft sleeper, this phenomenon has made it so that I can sleep only during the hours that the train doesn’t run, from 11 PM to 6 AM.

Also located right next to the train tracks and our apartment is the To-on High School athletics field. Thus, if the train doesn’t wake you up each morning, the rehearsing dance troupes and order-barking team captains certainly will. Yesterday there was some sort of sports festival going on at the high school. One minute I was deep in slumber, the next I was shocked awake by circus music and synchronized cheering.

I am confident that I will get used to the train-quakes. And, the high school can’t have the circus come to town every night. So, all in all I think this will be a perfectly fine place to live. Wait a minute, is that me talking or is that the early makings of Stockholm Syndrome?

For all your Ben Whaley mailing and contact needs, my home address in English is the following:

Ben Whaley
KSS 201
1533-2 Minara, To-on City
Ehime 791-0211
JAPAN

OR in Japanese:

〒791-0211
愛媛県東温市見奈良1533-2
KSS 201
ベン・ホェイリー様

Here is my apartment complex KSS (yes, that's the name) from the outside. There are only nine apartments in the entire building so each unit is fairly big. Am I the only one who thinks this place looks like a maximum security prison? It must have something to do with the weird yellowish-orange paint job and that strange name.

This door marks the entrance to my home, KSS 201.

The "genkan" or entry way invites you to take off your shoes and step into my humble abode.

Here's my kitchen. It's nicely equipped for cooking with a gas burner, fridge, microwave, rice cooker, and toaster oven. The only gross thing was that the previous occupant left opened and half-eaten food items in all the cupboards. Needless to say they were rotten, stale, and bug infested. Yuck!

Welcome to my living room. Would you like to take a load off and watch a VHS tape on my 10 inch TV? I have modern Japanese classics like Robo Coppu.

Here is my bedroom minus the whole "bed" thing. This is basically one big tatami room with a futon in the middle. Because the futon mattress itself lacks any sort of cushion, it basically feels like you're sleeping directly on the floor. I've had to pile on lots of extra blanket layers to add more padding.

Ever wanted to walk inside your closet, pull down your pants and do your business? Well, in my apartment you do just that!

A pretty standard Japanese-style bathing area with tub and shower space. A central drain in the floor means that you can splash water to your heart's content.

And finally we close with a shot of my balcony / deck thing. Not shown in the picture is my genius washing machine. Before the water pumps in, the washing machine jiggles around the load to determine the size and recommends the appropriate amount of detergent. However, since most Japanese households and apartments don't have dryers, all your clothes are hung outside on the line.

Hi All!

Just a quick message to let you all know that I arrived safe and sound in Ehime (Shikoku) Japan. I got in late last night after a grueling all-day travel session that included two flights, an hour-long shuttle, and a $50 taxi ride.

I'm writing this from the sweltering heat of my apartment through the magic of pirated wireless internet! I have much to write about including my apartment building itself and my impressions so far of the surrounding area.

This morning my boss woke me up to go to the immigration office bright and early. That's fine, I was already up by 5 AM anyway. She also told me that she wants me to start conducting private English lessons beginning this evening. Never mind the jet lag or the fact that my stuff is still in suitcases.

No rest for the wicked!

More to come soon...when I get an ounce of downtime.

B.E.W.

UPDATE: I forgot to pack the USB cable to transfer pictures from my digital camera to my laptop. Since I live in the middle of nowhere, pictures will be delayed until I can go into the city proper and secure a new cable. Sorry!

Moving Soon...

Well, as strange as it feels to report this, I will be leaving for Japan again in just four short days. This time I will moving to Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku to start my new contract as an English language lecturer.

I plan to keep the blog strong and full with content as I explore this new area of Japan. I certainly hope you will all join me for the ride.

More to come soon!

Best,

B.E.W.

In honor of the Beijing Olympics, I've posted two previously unreleased pics from my trip to Beijing in 2006. Here's our group posing for a picture in Tiananmen Square with the gate to the Forbidden City in the background. Why on earth did I think it was a good fashion idea to wear black knee-high socks and dress shoes with shorts?

...and here we are posing on the Great Wall. Evidently I decided to replace my black socks with the more stylish white ones.

August Update

Hello all,

I sincerely apologize for simply dropping off the face of the blog. I intended to write this update from Japan but got sidetracked with my various preparations for departure. I safely returned home to Seattle, Washington last Monday.

Unfortunately, upon returning home, I was almost immediately struck by the stomach flu. I spent this past week battling a high fever and never-ending diarrhea. While I am inching closer and closer to recovery with each passing day, at the moment, my pulsing stomach cramps are keeping me from fully indulging in this update.

In recent news, I have accepted a position to teach English language courses at Ehime University in Ehime (Shikoku), Japan. I have never been to the island of Shikoku before, so this new job and the accompanying location will certainly be an exciting adventure. I will return to Japan in September to begin work.

I have a lot of thoughts, opinions, and lessons learned from my month spent job searching in Japan. I wish to formulate these into a coherent post or two. Perhaps I’ll make that my goal before I leave again…

…after it stops feeling like I’m giving birth.

B.E.W.