Japan, Part 3 of 3

Since I had unlimited rail system access, I could travel back across the country to Fukuoka, where I had already passed and would be heading again to catch the ferry to Korea in a week. There, I met up with the Virginias again, and we partied like it was our job. The next day, I think I may have had the worst headache of my life, but we were all so zombied out from the prior evening that I probably laughed more that day than any other time in my life as well. I'm talking tears. Everything was so funny, even though it hurt to laugh. Come the next morning at 6am, we cabbed to an arena and were 2nd in a line with our hotel blankets. Once it opened, we bought our tickets and went back to sleep.

Later that day, we headed back over to that arena. The tickets we had bought, the reasons we were in Fukuoka, were the sumos. It was the final day of the sumo festival that occurs 4 times a year, each one lasting 15 days. This was wicked. We had a full day of watching these huge babies in diapers, from the lowest ranking to finally the Yokozunas (top guys with the most time allowed for intimidation). Learnt a lot about the rules, the history, the ranking system, and the current condition of the sport...ask me if you wanna hear about it! One interesting thing about it is that there is actually a drop of several feet around the sumo stage, that is relatively small to begin with (compared to the fighters) and the crowd seating begins just a few feet away from the stage. People were getting trampled by rolling fat naked men left and right, but nobody seemed to care. Doesn't that hurt? That night we hit a bar and some of the sumos showed up for drinks. Also, the dancefloor was cleared eventually for some breakdancing crews to perform. I headed back to Nagoya the next day.

I left Les & Sarah's place the following day to check out Kyoto. First thing I did, which I thought would just be a little side activity, was hike up a hill to try to catch a glimpse of some monkeys I had heard about. It turned out the be one of the coolest things I would see in Japan. On my way up, I found one in the grass and watched him for a while, since it could be the only one I'd spot. Once I'd had enough, I continued up to find about 99 more monkeys in the clearing by the tourist feeding house (for feeding monkeys, not tourists). You buy a bag of apples and pass them the pieces through the fence. I help on to one of the pieces as Charlie (or so I named him) grabbed it, and I observed his tiny hands for a while. So human like. I taught him how to catch the pieces I'd toss to him from a few feet away. I was called outside then and the monkey master threw down some monkey seeds or grains or something, and instantly the monkey population doubled as they all swarmed in from the trees. A freezy of fights, flailing and fun ensued. I spent a good hour up there snapping shots. The rest of that day was fairly uneventful, mainly just fighting through the masses, trying to get to the next temple, or to just walk around. Lots of people there for the pretty fall colors. I returned to Kyoto the next day, but this time I stayed in the city. The temples were nice enough during the day, but to my surprise, as soon as it was dark enough, massive lineups were forming. After curiously watching from a distance, I decided to see what all the hype was about and go into one of the temple grounds. Upon entering, I realized immediately that the fuss was all about the colors. The lights turned on at night and the tress were on fire. Bright orange, red and yellow everywhere. Majestic ponds with statue centerpieces reflected these images seamlessly, and of course the grounds were spotted with temples and other things. Way cooler than during the day. I walked for a while longer and then headed back.

I said my 3rd and final see-yas to Les and Sarah and thanked them for letting me freeload for a total of over a week, and I set off for Hiroshima. All of the bomb related stuff was within one area, the Peace Park, which used to be a busy section of town but was the hardest hit by the bomb. To be completely honest, this was the first time I'd even been in a museum where I was just as alert and aware when I left as when I had arrived. I think I read every single piece of english text in the place. I even rented an english audio guide. The museums, memorials, and the actual ground zero were all very captivating, although at times slightly disturbing, due to the graphic posters and wax statues. There were 4 photos taken minutes after the bomb went off, until the photographer couldn't stomach it any longer. It definitely served its purpose. I made sure to stick out my bag with the canadian flag on it, to avoid the dirty looks that I was certain would be shot my way, but it turns out that wasn't the vibe at all. In none of the exhibits was there really any blame placed anywhere, just unbiased facts. I spent the rest of that day again in a cool hostel, making friends, playing ugitar, and sharing stories. The next morning I bussed back to Fukuoka and rode a highspeed hydrofoil boat across the sea to Korea.


Other interesting stuff about Japan -->
-The Metro employees who's job it is to cram the last people onto the Tokyo subways before the doors close.
-The Japanime porno comics at the convenience stores. I call it Japornime.
-The ease of getting addicted to coffee. I drank more coffee in Japan that any other time in my life.
-The abundance of men in suits and women in miniskirts, no matter the weather.
-The obligation to drink with your boss, no matter what your situation is at home and how long he wants to drink for.


Mike