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09.30.02
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I've been thinking that it would kind of
fun to do an occasional series of tips for
living in Tokyo.
Tokyo tip #1
If you're traveling regularly on the
trains
or subway, designate one specific pocket
or area of your wallet where you will
keep
your ticket. This will save you from
the
headache of hunting through your stuff
for
your ticket when it comes time to exit
the
station.
I first gave this tip to Karen's dad Gary
when he was here last year. He later mentioned
that it really came in handy, so it stuck
in my mind. I always keep my ticket in my
left breast pocket.
To understand the importance of the 'designated
ticket pocket' you have to know a little
bit about the fare system on Japanese commuter
trains.
In the stations, platform areas are protected
by ticket gates. To make the doors to the
gate open you need to use either a pass (which
most regular commuters have) or else a one-trip
ticket (which most tourists or non-commuters
buy for each trip).
Here's how the system works. First, you go
to the row of vending machines that sell
the tickets and stand in line. While you
are in line you read the fare map on the
wall above the machines and see how much
the fare to your destination is. When it's
your turn at the machine, you drop your money
in the slot, press the button on the computerized
touch screen that corresponds to your fare
amount, and take your ticket when it pops
out. Tickets are small and magnetized: about
an inch and a half long and half an inch
wide.
Next you enter the platform area. You have
to pass through a gate that is about three
feet high with little padded stop-doors on
its far side. As you walk through you insert
your ticket into a small slot on the near
side, the stop-doors open, and you pass through
and grab your ticket as it pops out on the
far side of the gate.
This is where the problem starts. You have
this used ticket, and you need to hold on
to it in order to exit the station at your
destination (It's done this way so that people
don't just buy the lowest fare ticket and
then use it to go really far).
At this point, most people just stick the
ticket in their front pocket or wallet --
whatever's easiest. However, experience has
taught me that by the time you have gotten
to your destination the location of your
ticket will be a distant memory. Often, because
of the thick crowds you are swept up to the
exit gates and are expected to have your
ticket ready to drop in the slot, so if you
have to stop and start emptying your pockets
or start pulling out every little old scrap
of paper from your wallet you're going to
piss off a lot of the people waiting behind
you.
Sometimes you just never find the ticket,
and you just have to pay again. I'm
not sure
where these lost tickets go, probably
the
same place as missing socks.
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Today's pictures are from Sunday afternoon
with Karen's brother Dave who is visiting
from Canada.
We took him down to look at the freak kids
in Harajuku. After Harajuku we went to a
night-time matsuri (street festival) in Ikebukuro. I have lots
of sweet pictures from that event as well
which I'll probably be putting up here on
Hunkabutta this coming Wednesday.
09.28.02
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Karen's brother Dave has been here for a
few days now, but I have been busy working
and baby-sitting and haven't spent much time
with him yet. However, he and Karen have
been very active, they've been going to shows
(death metal) and to see some of Dave's friends
here. That's why I don't have any pictures
of Dave up today -- Sorry.
Tomorrow we'll be spending the whole day
together. We'll be going to see the teenagers
in costume who stand in front of Yoyogi Koen
(park) in Harajuku, then we'll be going to
a matsuri (street festival) in Ikebukuro. I'll be
taking a lot of pictures.
For now, I thought I'd show you some photos
of Shibuya because it's the place that Dave
spent Friday afternoon and evening. Maybe
you'll get a sense of some of the new things
he's seeing.
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I want to say hello to the many new visitors
to Hunkabutta who've come here from CNN.com because of my picture in a recent article
entitled 'Mysteries of renowned Zen garden revealed.'
09.26.02
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Karen and I were talking the other day about
how good Japanese fruit is. It's one of those
minor details of life here in Tokyo that
you'll probably never read about in any guide
book, but it's true: Japanese fruit is outstanding.
Of course, I come from Toronto, where pretty
much the only fruit that we get is the stuff
that's too crappy to sell in the States so
they ship it up to us while it's green and
irradiate it in secret warehouses.
Here the fruit is always high quality.
You
never come home from the shop and find
a
rotten peach at the bottom of the basket
or anything like that. And another
thing,
they have really distinct fruit seasons
here,
and when something is in season, say
watermelon,
then it's everywhere and it's delicious.
A few days after the end of the season,
you'd
be pretty hard pressed to find a watermelon
anywhere.
The reason that I'm telling you all this
is because I want to let you in on a little
secret: Japanese nashi (sometimes called Japanese pear) is absolutely,
without a doubt, the best fruit in the world,
bar none. It sort of looks like a big Golden
Delicious apple with a slightly greener tinge,
but that's where the similarities end. The
flesh is firm, yet tender. It is so juicy
that when you take the first bite the fluid
gushes down your wrist. The core is so small
and innocuous that sometimes you eat it without
even noticing. You can cut a nashi in half, leave it in the fridge for a week,
and when you take it out it will not have
changed a bit: no browning, no drying, no
decay at all.
Nashi is the wonderfruit and if I can I'm going
to smuggle some seeds back with me to Canada
when I eventually move back. I know that
the Ministry of Agriculture is pretty strict
about importing foreign plants and animals,
but I don't care. I'll swallow a condom full
of seeds if I have to. I'll rove around the
Okanagan planting nashi seeds where ever I go, and people will say,
"Here comes Johnny Nashi Seed."
Okay, but seriously, Japanese fruit
really
is something special.
09.24.02
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Today's pictures are for Karen's Uncle
Bill
who made a request a long time ago
in the
Hunkabutta comments section for some
car
photos. You thought I forgot, didn't
you
Bill?
I didn't forget, but I had to put it on hold
for awhile because I lost a lot of the car
pictures that I had amassed when I left my
company laptop on the train at the beginning
of August.
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I met my first language exchange partner
on Sunday. Her name is Kayo and she lives
out near (in?) Chiba. She's 27 and used to
live in Australia. She wants to do language
exchange in order to keep up her English
level.
We only had a brief introductory meeting
to work out a schedule. Unfortunately, our
schedules don't jive very well, but we're
going to try to meet at least once a week.
Our first official study-meeting is tomorrow
at 8:00 p.m.
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My brother-in-law Dave is arriving for a
visit tomorrow afternoon. It should be fun.
Expect some family touristy pictures in the
near future.
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