In all seriousness…
19 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Craig/クレイグ
I was just going back through my posts and realized that the guy writing is always joking. What’s wrong with that guy!? Anyway, this is important, so listen up!
The Japan experience was one I will never forget. I have met people who are now friends, and am already in contact with amazing people that I never would have otherwise had the pleasure to be around. The people of Japan are amazing, funny, kind, generous, caring, and have my devout respect. I wanted to see Japan for all of the differences, all of the similarities, and to see how another culture went about it’s daily business. What I found was that the people are the culture. You could never go to Japan as a tourist, look around, and understand how it all works. You have to know the people, talk with them, see what it is that concerns them, motivates them, and drives them. I tend to be an entertainer, and I sincerely hope that I gave the people I came into contact with in Japan as much joy as they gave me. I act goofy, I joke around, but I care. The Japanese left me with so many positive feelings, I can only hope that I left them with the same.
Thank you so very much Japan. Thank you so very much Rotary. My life will never be the same, and hopefully, everyone that hosted our team has felt that change as well.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program….
Fashion dogs have fashion!
Enter the Kentaro!
19 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Craig/クレイグ
This was a great picture that I have to throw out there.. In Japan, when you are drunk, you have to take off your tie, and wrap it around your head. Doing so means that you don’t need any more to drink, since you already have a tie around your head.
This is me with my Host brother Kentaro Ozawa.
When in Japan...
Toe Socks. TOE(s). Toes socks?
17 Nov 2010 1 Comment
in Craig/クレイグ
I wore these in Japan because they were stylish and comfy. If I find them in the US. I will wear them there as well. Why? Because I am a grown man who can make decisions!! And anyone that doesn’t like my toe socks, is not cool. NOT COOL!
Back in the U.S. (S.R.)
17 Nov 2010 2 Comments
in Craig/クレイグ
So we made it back! I am tired. I am compiling photos and stories, and will continue to post some things as I have time. I had a fantastic time, and want to thank my host families, The Tanabes, The Ozawas, The Tamakis, and Ko-sama. You all made the trip a memory I will never forget.
I would also like to thank the team. You are all awesome. It’s not easy to be stuck with people, especially me, for a whole month with very few breaks. We did it. We have seen Japan, and life will never be the same.
More to come…..
JU-BI-LO~!
07 Nov 2010 3 Comments
in Craig/クレイグ
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Long time, no type! But as usual, short on time, so I’m going to burn through this! We went to a soccer game to see Team Jubilo take on the team that was wearing orange. Jubilo gave up a 1-0 advantage, and then in additional time (It’s a soccer rule, I have no idea what makes giving the team more time to try and score acceptable) they managed to tie the game and it ended 1-1. The crowd was thrown into a frenzy that they would not recover from f0r at least 2 minutes!
We went to Mos Burger! Was it good!? They served us burgers, they had fries, the soda was fizzy! That’s all I’m saying about that!
We saw a cancer treatment hospital the other day. It was truly amazing. They had a proton accelerator that would fire protons through the human body and only blow up the cells they targeted. Sounds like sci-fi! Looked like sci-fi, we went behind the white door, and there was literally a room sized device that they could turn around. While we stood there, they did. It was akin to watching a robot get ready to step on you. I have never felt so insignificant.
I met a real geisha the other night! We were at a karaoke bar, and she was there, chastizing me for singing english songs. Then she starts singing Celine Dion. It hit me, I’m watching a geisha sing Celine Dion. My inner child was crying.
Just before the karaoke, my host family, The Tamakis, took me to a very nice restaurant with their veterinarian friend, Mr. Nagatomo, Japan’s premiere Korean singer! We had a few jumbo crabs, a bunch of tempura, a modest and completely acceptable amount of sake, and 2 live squid. I know they were alive, because I could watch their spots undulate, and they moved when I poked ‘em! I was afraid we’d have to eat the live critters, but no, they took them off the table, and brought them back in chunks a few minutes later. I kind of like meeting my food before I eat it. We formed a bond, then I ate.. it’s cheek? I’m not sure what you’d call it on a squid. But he tasted just like I figured he would when we were talking.
I had to leave the Tamaki home yesterday. I was sad to go. They are very nice people, and Mrs. Tamaki made me some really cool breakfast dishes. Nori and egg pizza? Yes we can! Eggs on a plate of bacon? Yes we can! Garlic bread, cheese toast, AND buttered toast? Yes we can! Plus Orange juice, milk, and tea every morning. It was like breakfast in the commercials! I’m just bummed that my nose was all stuffy the majority of the time I was there.
Japanese difference bulletin: Every store seems to have more employees. And every one of those employees is pretty likely to stop and greet you when you enter, and greet you when you exit. In bigger stores, this simply can’t happen, but in smaller shops, almost every time.
Japanese point of construction: 2 days ago I saw my first Japanese screws. It was a conscious choice I believe, but otherwise, it is nearly impossible to find a single nail or screw on the inside, or even outside of Japanese buildings. It is rather impressive.
Art, more art, and bowling.
29 Oct 2010 3 Comments
in Craig/クレイグ
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We went to the Yamanashi prefecture Art museum today and saw Millet paintings. It was good! I have to believe that Millet knew his way around a paintbrush. We also went bowling, and in the second game I scored a 144. Not bad for not having rolled a ball for a year or so.
Today was filled with delicious foods, bowling, a big waterfall, a gondola ride to a magnificent view, and Jerry taking the bullet for us all and consuming the required beer and sake at the Rotary meeting. I took baby sips because I was quite done with alcohol after karaoke last night.
I bought a can of Ultraman soda from a vending machine.. it was meh. I also wore my toe socks. They were very comfortable. It felt like I had micro howler monkeys hugging on my tootsies all day. I also found a variety bag of HaiChyuu. HaiChyuu is delicious. It’s basically starburst that holds its form longer and is imbued with magically tangy flavor. If you ever find it, buy some, and you will certainly taste it. If you choose to eat it, that is.
The Ozawa family gave me a parting gift, a fabulous DVD of pictures set to Metallica’s Enter Sandman. I have already watched it, and it is very cool. It shows everything from family dinner to the Karaoke rock out.
Tomorrow we move on to Mishima, and it will be sad. I haven’t got to spend as much time with the Ozawas as I did with the Tanabes, because we had later days. I am still very fond of them however, and I will be keeping in touch.
After today, the blog will once again be mired in uncertainty, since I don:t know if internet access will be available to me. So… stay tuned! But don’t hold your breath. (as you will only have a few minutes until you black out.)
Today’s activities!
28 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in Craig/クレイグ
Today I went to the cable TV company of my host family to start the day. They have a very nice ISP/cable company setup that is cleaner and more organized than most American companies I have seen. (Actually all of them.) I then went to the police station and learned that crimals in Japan just have to suffer, as opposed to American criminals that are coddled. Very cool.
I ate Italian food today. It was basically green beans and pesto in a cream sauce with bacon and spaghetti. It was choice. I also ate Omigiyaki? which was more or less Japanese fish pizza. It was tasty as well. This all happened during the Sakezoic period, and I left feeling dizzy and ready to sing karaoke with Kentaro, Kazuya, the wife, the kids, Windy, Jerry, and a mic. I sang foolishly, and it was good.
Now for some crazy funk pictures..
I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll notice something a little creepy here. In the US it would be creepy anyway. In Japan it’s merely certified awesome. TM.We went shoppping tonight, Jerry and I… and I bought my boy a model, and myself… well, I’m now the proud owner of 2 pairs of toe socks. That’s right suckas. In the US I could never wear such a thing, but in the good ole Japan, they are A-OK. So I have toe socks. Anyone that thinks that is lame, is fat and dumb. Period!
Another thing about Japan is that copyright rules seem to be less effective than that of rules in the US. For example: Disney is a big deal in the US, and you don’t mess with the master mouse. But here in Japan, I have found conclusive evidence that states that perhaps copyrights aren’t such a big deal to everyone. I will be having nightmares about this for many weeks. It’s like robot Disney and a bad case of the chills combined to sap my will to live. I really couldn’t be less horrified than I was when I saw this. What could fix this atrocity?
I guess karaoke, because between our dinner of Omagiyaki (I think that’s right) and a few containers of sake, I forgot all about Mitzelplik Disney. Karaoke was fun, with Kentaro’s little ones singing High School Musical, and me screeching some crazy metal and 80′s rock made the night a complete success.
I have grown weary of typing and must retire. But all ye who enter here be warned…
That’s it. It’s an empty threat. But be afraid, because I can sing metal, and I will point it at you if the need arises!
Pictures are being mega-stupid. I give up for the night. Maybe tomorrow, this taxes me.
(fixed?)
My feet are big.
27 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in Craig/クレイグ
In Japan, the feet are small. I’ve noticed that everytime I get slippers or any kind of foot covering, they are small. I guess that’s all there is to say about that.
Fast food? After talking with Alison today, it occured to me that there doesn’t really seem to be very many fast food options here. There are McDonalds’s..’s. and there are KFC shops, and then… I guess the 7-11 is the next closest thing. But unlinke the US, the 7-11 here seems to offer much better quality food. They serve Bento boxes with various items, mostly fishes and rice, some tofu, veggies, and a few unidentifiable items. Our 7-11, hotdogs and donuts. But there is the slurpee, and that makes up for any shortcomings.
I still feel like a super-heel when we are flag trading, because my rotary club ordered flags, and they did not arrive in time for the trip. So I’m just a flag leech. I usually just stand near Jillian, and she says her flag is from us Eurekans, so I guess it works out. But bleh. Windy has her very nice wine stoppers for mayors, and Bri has her personally made photo cards. I have only gratitude. I should have taken mayors into account before we left.
Time to go do stuff. You kids behave. 
Set phasers to blog!
27 Oct 2010 6 Comments
in Craig/クレイグ
My fantastic host family put in a wifi connection and set up a laptop for me to use while I am here. Let’s hear it for the Ozawa Family! YATTA!
I still need to figure out or buy a cable to get my pictures downloaded, as I have 10′s of fantastic images burning a hole in my camera.. OH WAIT! Just realized I DO have an iPhone cable, and I did take some pictures with it.. let’s get em!
When I arrived to Japan, we hopped on the train and this was my very first gift from the good people of Japan. Can you dig it? Anyhow, the last few days have been very busy, and I haven’t had any internets, but now I’ll try to catch up a bit. It’s actually pretty difficult to remember, with the intense amount of things we’ve been doing.
I will start with our arrival in Kofu, which is the town we are currently in. We got to the hotel and had a feast, and were warmly welcomed. Everyone became very nervous once the feast began, when we realized that the hosts we had spoke very little Japanese. Oh noes! How will this work, when everyone is having a hard time communicating!? Turns out that we did a pretty good job, only really getting stuck a few times. During the dinner, I went over to the hotel owner, Furuya-san, simply to thank him for the dinner and the hospitality. I cracked a few really bad jokes, but he must of like them because he informed me it was time to go to the onsen, and then a 100 year old Japanese bar. I didn’t try to object, but I get the impression that objection would not have been an option anyway. I managed to get Windy and Jillian roped into going, and off we went.
The bar was great. They kept ordering more and more food! Since we just had a feast, 4th meal was hard to accept, so we kinda just nibbled, until the huge bowls of ramen appeared. Then we ate again, because this was no American ramen. This was the good stuff. Best ramen I ever had, until two days later, when we went to a ramen shop and watched the owner (and rotary member) make us all ramen from scratch! We went back to the hotel and then sang some karaoke with a couple of Japanese guys, and I completely blew out my voice screaming Disturbed and Metallica to bewildered Japanese folks. (Since there were only 4 in the room, I figured it was ok.)
Fast forward to the ramen eating! We were at the local festival and once the ramen was made, we were directed to eat it with loud slurping! Why? Because we were being filmed for TV. That’s right, we’re a big deal in Japan. We’ve been in 2 newspapers, and filmed for TV, though we are probably on the cutting room floor.Those are real buildings in the background.
At the festival Jerry-san threw stuff off a scaffolding. Kids and adults alike trampled each other for the right to claim pieces of candy and most notably, a large dead fish. I managed to snag a tatami mat filled with rice patties and pieces of a tree. This means I’m lucky. I know because everyone told me it was great luck to catch a rice patty. Well I caught 8. At once. Luckyyy!
The big robot to your right was at the Gundam show. We got great group photos of it as well, but sadly, the lion’s share of my photos are bound to my camera.
My new host family set me up in a beautiful room, and made a great hamburger dinner the first night I was there. They were shocked when they found out that I liked seafood, of the raw persuasion, and so the next night was sushi time. I had drinks with Kenjiro, who is Akira Ozawa’s son, and we wrapped ties around our heads and celebrated. Yes, I have a photo of it. On my camera. The Ozawa’s have a wonderful family, and they have made me feel very welcome.
I’m going to blow through a couple points of interest… We saw Fuji up close.. Fantastic! We went to a few wineries… decadent! We saw a frozen cave… chilly! We saw the largest collection of owls and flowers I’ve ever seen. I apparantly have a knack for sending owls into a rage. Here is a picure of the one that hated me the most. At one point there were 8 other people in the room and the owl would not look away from me, feathers ruffled, and waiting to kill!
Internet lackitude!
25 Oct 2010 2 Comments
in Craig/クレイグ
I’m trying to get into an update, but I don’t have internet all the time, so I’m getting to it when I can. So, unfortunately, this isn’t even really a post. But we did watch a guy light some alcohol bottles on fire and juggle them tonight, so you could say things are going well.
I’m hoping to be able to do some posting in the next 2 days. Stay tuned, and we will do what we can to provide a window into the perspective of myself! (That sentence is going to confuse all nationalities.)
So much to share, so little time.
One last thing, I miss the Tanabes!! You were super great hosts, and I hope we can keep in touch.
