Shibu-Yeah!

The Shibuya crossing is one of the most distinct intersections in the entire world. Here are just a few pictures of this famous crossing when Bern and I went to Tokyo the other weekend.

 

 

 

    

The train stop to reach this popular destination is called "Hachiko" which is the name of a famous akita dog. The story says that Hachiko would greet his master at the train station everyday after work. One day, the master died at work but Hachiko continued to wait for his master to return at the same time for nine years. Bern says there is a movie about this story called Hachi on Netflix if you're interested. So now at the front of the station there is a bronze statue of Hachiko designated as a meeting place for family & friends getting off the train.    

 

 

First 100 Days

Last Wednesday marked the first 100 days since Bern and I got to Japan so it's befitting that this post be somewhat of a progress report to break down just a few of the key aspects of living abroad. A "smorgasbord" if you will of our time here in Japan so far. Time sure does fly huh? Well, Enjoy!

(In no particular order)

1. Numbers

We are normally not susceptible to numerology but it's crazy how the universe seems to give us  these small, subtle hints to suggest that maybe we were meant to be here. For example:

Our Mailbox
Bern's birthday is November of 1978 

Our Apartment
My birthday is in October & Bern's favorite number is 2

Pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines
Same last name & the number 28 is the day of our anniversary

2. Cherry Blossoms come and go with a quickness
   
These well-known Japanese trees literally blossom within a week's time (around the last week of March) and then they are gone. But they are a sight to see when they do so if you are looking to come out specifically for the Cherry Blossoms, plan accordingly.
     

 

3. Transportation in Japan

 

A) Driving- This clever idea is something I wish the U.S. would incorporate with new & elderly  drivers. By placing these stickers on the back & front of your vehicle, it gives others a better sense of their surroundings while driving.

 

New Driver

Elderly Driver

B) Trains- This is perhaps the best way to get around the country. Every major city is connected to the railways. It is fast, on time, surprisingly quiet inside. But of course depending on what time of day, they can get quite congested. So say goodbye to your "personal space" when you run into a big rush of people trying to get from point A to point B.

 

Many Japanese people wear surgical face masks

His job is to PUSH as many people into the train as possible

    

Standing on the left side of ANY escalator to allow people to pass 

4. Yellow brick roads

    

Everywhere we've gone so far there are these yellow bumps on the ground which are for the blind. 

 

5. Unusual video games

 

The days of going to your local arcade and dropping quarters to play the latest video games may be over in the states, but they are alive and well here in Japan. I guess it's not that surprising since the Japanese practically revolutionized the gaming industry. But while strolling through a few arcades, there are some pretty unique games on the floor including this game:

 

 

The objective is to flip over the table as hard as you can & see how many things you can destroy  in the particular setting you choose (office, restaurant, etc...) Who hasn't imagined doing this in real life? haha

 

6. Favorite restaurants

 

We love eating sushi 1-2 times a week at the sushi go-arounds. There is one right across the street from our apartment which is super convenient, but we prefer to eat at the one that we first went to which is only a quick 5 minute drive away.

 

 

 

       

But we also love going to this one place called Pepper Lunch, where they have different types of beef & steaks brought out to you on these sizzling, cast-iron plates (think fajitas at Chili's). On every dish they put a dollop of this pepper-infused butter which is amazing since I practically put pepper on everything. SCORE!   

 

        

7. Japanese toilets (great segue huh?! haha)

 

The westernized style toilets are awesome! They are so high-tech and most come with heated seats. But in many Japanese restrooms, they still have these squat toilets which we both are still reluctant to use... Wouldn't you? 

    

    

 

 

8. Cultural Immersion

 

The best way to really understand a new culture is to completely immerse yourself in it. With that said, I've been keeping myself busy by joining an Aikido class on base. Aikido is a Japanese martial art which is focused on harmonizing the spirit. The founder, Morihei Ueshiba, said that Aikido was really a martial art of love; so there's no offensive attacks, only different ways to redirect an attackers momentum and use it against themselves. Many of the moves we practice are based on the art of the Japanese sword so the first hour of class is dedicated to just that while the second hour is more on the empty hand techniques. What I find most intriguing is that the underlying concepts of Aikido can be applied to our everyday lives. Rather than resist or try to fight a problem head on, we can learn to redirect and somehow try to figure out a different way to be in control of the situation.

 

 

      

I've also taken a liking to Shodo, Japanese calligraphy. Writing the Kanji & Katana is challenging  because it's all about control. Learning how to control the fude (brush) while writing the characters in a particular order is not easy, but here's my very first try at writing the Kanji for "otosan" (father) which was a gift for my Dad on Father's Day.   

 

9. Football (soccer) is very popular

Television broadcasts a lot of soccer games between teams from the Japanese soccer league. And now with the start of the World Cup Tournament in Brazil, soccer fever is at an all-time high as people cheer on their national team. So when in Rome...

My first and only soccer jersey
Samurai Blue

 
10. Work

Now that Bern has more of a lead role at work, she's been having to conduct more one-on-one appointments as well as presentations to clients. This is something that's new for her, but after two successful presentations, she's getting the gist of the material which I'm really proud of her for. She works hard everyday to make this Japan experience all possible so I'm eternally grateful. Good job hun!       

   

Now here are just a few more random observations from these past 100 Days:

11. There's a supermarket inside every mall
12. No napkins in restaurants, instead disposable face towels are used
13. There are vending machines everywhere
14. Money must be placed on a small tray during any transaction
15. All business men carry a "murse" (man-purse)

16. Sleeping on a train is quite common

17. There are no public trash cans

18. People young and old love anime

19. Mayo is a popular condiment (yuck!)

20. Everyone is very respectful

  

Thank you to everyone who keeps up with Matsu-Chan! Hope you've enjoyed catching up with us these past 100 days. It's been an adventure to say the least and we look forward to seeing what the other 995 days have in store for us. Please continue to stay with us on this incredible journey. Take care!      

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

 

Mr. Basebol

As many of you know, I'm a big baseball fan. And ever since I first watched the movie Mr. Baseball back in the 90's, I've always wanted to go to a Japanese baseball game...

 

Well, my wish finally came true last Saturday. Being that this was going to be our first time, I really wanted it to be a memorable experience. So after doing some research online, I discovered that Bern and I had something in common with a particular player who pitched for the Chiba Lotte Marines; we shared the same "Matsunaga" name. Naturally, we had to support our boy so we got tickets to see the Marines take on the Yokohama Bay Stars (which is technically the home team for Yokosuka).
      

 

 

We got to QVC Field at around 1:30pm and first pitch was at 2pm so we had some time to grab lunch before the game started. Of course the food choices at these concession stands were a bit different than the ones we were used to back in the states.

 

 

Luckily, we found one that served hamburgers & chicken strips so we went with that. We then headed back to our seats which were on the field level first base side. These tickets only cost us about 3,100 Yen ($31) each so it was a pretty good deal. 

 

 

The atmosphere was electric, similar to that of a European soccer match. It first starts off with cheerleaders running onto the field to get the crowd going even more and to introduce the players one by one.

 

      

Then from the 1st inning to the last, die-hard fans from both teams are cheering/chanting NON-STOP...the bulk of the Mariners fans sat in the right outfield while the Bay Star's fans sat in the left outfield; equipped with drums, horns, and team flags. I know these pictures can't do it justice, but trust me when I say that it was insane to say the least!

 

 

Naturally, I had to be apart of the madness so we left during the 2nd inning to check out the team store. I was really hoping to pick up a Matsunaga shirt but he's not as popular since he's more of a middle relief pitcher. However, I did pick up a few souvenirs including a pair of hallowed-out noise making bats so I could join in on the fun. When we returned to our seats by the 4th inning, I immediately got into the spirit and started to cheer on the Marines. It's safe to say that Bern got a little annoyed by them in a matter of minutes; but being the awesome lady she is; she just smiled as I continued to learn all of the chants.

 

          

And you can't go to a baseball game without getting an ice-cold beer...

 

 

Now we weren't sure if Matsunaga was going to play that day but in the 6th inning, here comes this Volvo on the field to bring out the next pitcher and sure enough, it's Takahiro Matsunaga! What's cool too is he wears number 28 which happens to be the day of our wedding anniversary.

 

 

Unfortunately, Matsunaga didn't have his best stuff that day. In 1 & 2/3 innings of work, he gave up three hits and one run which ended a tied ballgame at that point. But we were still thrilled that we got to at least see him play. Now in the middle 7th inning, we are so used to the "7th inning stretch" & the famous Take Me Out to the Ballgame song; but here in Japan fans do something totally different. They blow up elongated balloons which make a whistling noise as they are sent off into the air. (I'll leave it to your imaginations to describe what they look like! haha) Nonetheless, a pretty cool sight to see!  

 

    

The Bay Stars put on a hitting clinic after Matsunaga was pulled off the mound so we decided to leave early and take a look around at the shopping outlet by the ballpark. It was a long day because we live about a 2 hour train ride (3 transfers) away from Chiba but we had a lot of fun and it certainly won't be our last time for sure.